Dear Rabbit
by Haruka Hourou
Summary: Levi and Eren happen to run into each other at the most random times, or at least, that's what he wants Eren to think. Their meetings are nothing but a random strain of coincidences… and it seems that way, until Eren finds herself in a compromising and painful situation which changes her life forever. Contains Thug-Yandere!Levi x Fem!Eren.
1. Prologue: Raised to Kill

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N**

**Inspired by the songs "Human" – Christina Perri and "I know I'm a Wolf" – Young Heretics and the video EREN x LEVI / IT'S COLD OUT THERE by TheAnimepenner.**

**This is my Second fic! Whoop whoop. Sorry for awkward summary. Updates Every Thursday, unless otherwise stated.**

**Thank you, I hope you enjoy. **

**Prologue – Raised to Kill. **

It started when Levi's aunt passed away. His uncle was distraught over her loss, so much so, that he tried and failed more than once to take his own life. His uncle, the blood brother of his mother, was invited to stay with him and his parents indefinitely.

At that time, Levi was nearing his seventh birthday; he happily welcomed his poor and lonely uncle into their home, to live and celebrate with them during the Christmas holiday season. Levi's father had been opposed to the infringement, but after a few weeks of soothing words from his beautiful wife, Uncle Felix was welcomed and allowed to stay.

That was the first mistake.

There was more than enough room in their large, two-story colonial. His uncle slept on the second floor, two rooms down from Levi, next to his mother's craft room.

Angelica, his mother, was a kind hearted woman, a sweet and caring soul who often volunteered to help those less fortunate than she. Liam, his father, was a stern and strict, yet terribly gentle man. He had such a soft spot for Angelica and Levi that it was hard to believe that he was an Admiral that held four stars.

Uncle Felix had been living with Levi and his parents for three years. It was two weeks before Levi's birthday and Christmas that the incident occurred. The incident which would change his love filled childhood and life forever.

Liam and Angelica were returning from a short weekend getaway to celebrate their 13th year of marriage, while Uncle Felix watched Levi at their home. Winter had come early and been particularly harsh that year, rendering many flights delayed and cancelled. If the airline had any sense at the time, then they would not have chosen to allow the flight to take off in such dangerous conditions, but unfortunately, they allowed it.

The crash happened. Nothing could change that. At 5:13 AM, exactly one week and six days before his tenth birthday, Levi received the news from his uncle that his parents were gone.

Strike one.

After the funeral, the will was read and everything was left to Levi when he became an adult at the age of 18, but until then, as his only surviving relative, Uncle Felix was in charge of caring for him.

Levi's tenth Christmas and birthday was the most solemn day he'd ever lived. There were no decorations, no tree, no gifts, and there was no celebration made. Levi locked himself in his room and cried himself to sleep, night after night, and day after day. He would only leave his room to eat and relieve himself. He stopped going to school, and locked himself away, shutting himself off from the world and its happenings. This continued on for the next six months until his uncle couldn't take it anymore.

Uncle Felix had had enough. He'd lost his wife and Angelica, and now he was losing his only remaining family member and it was all Levi's fault. Levi was the one who made him lonely. Levi was the selfish rich brat who was left with everything. Levi didn't have to lift a finger and everything was just going to handed to him on a silver platter, he'd literally be taken care of for his entire life.

This thought was mistake number two for Uncle Felix.

He snapped.

Strike two.

While preparing dinner one summer night, Uncle Felix mixed in a few extra ingredients just for Levi's portion. He called the grief stricken shell of a boy down and let him eat, waiting for the drowsiness to kick in.

When Levi awoke, he was bound to a chair by rough and bristly rope. When he realized his position, he began to thrash and scream, only to realize that his screaming was useless because he was gagged, and that his thrashing only allowed to rope to dig further into his delicate young skin.

When his uncle heard the boy's thrashing, the chair hitting and sliding against the floor, he gathered his materials and greeted the terrified boy in the dimly lit room of the basement.

"Is everything alright Levi?" He approached the boy's trembling form, his bright gray eyes, wide with confusion and relief. Levi thought that his uncle was there to save him, and release him from his bindings… until he heard the next phrase that slipped out of Uncle Felix's crazed, smiling mouth, "What seems to be the problem my boy?"

Despite the lack of light, Levi's pupil's constricted, as the fear emerged anew. He began to realize that his Uncle Felix wasn't going to help him, no… Uncle Felix was the one who did this.

What happened, following those few moments of fear induced clarity and realization, wouldn't occur for another six months.

His uncle grabbed his face, and squeezed his cheeks between his thumb and fingers to force the gag out of Levi's mouth momentarily only to force it back in with enough force to make Levi's eye's water from the sensation of being choked. He spit on him, screaming profanities at the top of his lungs, scratching and kicking the child restrained in the chair until he was a barely conscious, bloody, and bruised lump of shallowly breathing flesh.

The only reason it took six months for the next incident to occur, was because it took six months for Levi to completely heal and trick himself into thinking it was just a horribly painful, and dreadful dream. He somehow managed to bring himself to that point, and he remained unscathed until the anniversary of his parent's death.

Then the beatings started again, but this time, without so much time in between.

Uncle Felix began to drink more, now that he was forced to work to support both Levi and himself. It started out as just a weekly thing, coming home once or twice every week a little too tipsy to stand or just enough to pass out.

Then it went from every week, to everyday, and from everyday, to multiple times a day, until the man would drink himself stupid and unconscious. That's when the beatings picked up, and got even worse, reaching the point to where Levi could barely move after each one.

There were no longer months, not even weeks, in between. Sure, after a particularly harsh beating, Levi would be left alone to lick his wounds in his room for a few day, but never long enough to completely heal before he was subjected to the sharp kicks to the stomach and fists to the face, the always colorful choice of derogatory curses, and various cheap alcohols Uncle Felix chose to launch at the boy or drench his wounded body in.

This lasted through Levi's twelfth birthday, when he'd found an injured rabbit weeks before, and took it upon himself to care for it, and nurse it back to health.

Unfortunately, Uncle Felix discovered the rabbit, and on a day that he was feeling particularly _generous_ and _merciful_ to the boy, decided to slit its throat and gut it right in front of Levi, after roughing the boy up enough to keep him from fighting back.

That was the last mistake.

Strike three.

This time Levi snapped.

Weeks following the incident, Levi waited for Uncle Felix to come home from one of his usual drunken escapades. Levi hid in the linen closet, kitchen knife in hand, and pressed firmly against his frail, bruised frame. When Uncle Felix finally came inside, and had passed out before making it to the sofa as usual, Levi crept out of the closet.

He quietly and slowly approached his uncle's limp form, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell of the man's rancid, vomit, and alcohol scented breath. He carefully stepped over his uncle's body, straddling the man's perpetually growing waistline. He took a deep breath as he slowly lowered his shaking frame onto his uncle's stomach.

Then he plunged the knife into his throat.

The violent jolt from the grown man below him, writhing under the unexpected weight of the small boy and choking on his own foul blood, made Uncle Felix's glazed and hallowed eyes widen in surprise, pain, and fear.

Levi paused a moment, terrified at the sight before him, before he shut his eyes tightly and thrust the knife in repeatedly, faster and deeper each time until the violently shaking and crimson soaked form below him stopped.

It stopped moving. It stopped breathing. It stopped being.

Levi opened his eyes and looked down at the grotesque image below him; he immediately regretted his decision as he took in the widely agape, bloodied orifice that once was his uncle's mouth. Bits and pieces of mangled muscle, that was once a tongue, and the tissue that had made up his cheeks were splayed across the red and pink mess before him. The jaw was barely intact, the lower jaw and his teeth jutting out unnaturally as it fell against the slab of muscular tubing and cartilage that was once a throat. The same throat that used to scream profanities at the young child. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head, red and yellow decorating what was once white on the now, useless organs.

Levi puked, adding a watery layer of putrid, and acidic, pale yellow liquid into the mix of broken bone and, ground, sliced flesh, and tissue. Levi sat, hands still wrapped tightly around the kitchen knife, slippery and sticky with the cooling blood of man who he once loved and still feared, his Uncle Felix.

He finally, slowly and shakily, lifted his body off the mangled corpse beneath him; the knife was still gripped tightly in his hand as he walked to the kitchen sink. He filled it with bleach and hot water, and set the knife, along with his sticky red stained hands, inside the heated basic solution, watching with a somewhat fascinated glint in his eyes as the red spread and dispersed out in thin, transparent tendrils in the liquid.

Levi stood there, with his hands sunk into the solution up to his wrists for several minutes, until he started to register the blistering burn that assaulted his delicate skin from having prolonged contact with the bleach solution.

He screamed and withdrew his pink skinned hands as he dropped to the ground, raking his hands through his hair and pulling at the roots, screaming and sobbing, letting out all the terrified screams and tears his little body had built up and bottled inside for the past two years of abuse he'd suffered at the hands of the cooling corpse that now littered his living room floor.

After screaming his lungs out, he forced his tired and shocked body up to his bathroom, where he took a hot shower, scrubbing his delicate skin raw and red, trying to get rid of the strong chemical smell of the bleach, the stench of the vomit, and the feeling of the tacky, dried blood that he'd drenched himself in.

* * *

It took two weeks for Levi to finally abandon his home, leaving the body of his uncle to decay and feed the hordes of insects that had infested his home after his Mother's death. Two weeks after he freed himself from his uncle's clutches, Levi found himself wandering the streets, hoping to find a decent place to rest and escape from the smell of decayed and rancid flesh.

He'd managed to find a decent overpass to hide under for a few days, before he was reported by an older woman walking her pretentious and yappy snot of a lap dog. He ran, walking around a park near the elementary school he'd attended as a younger child. He'd sleep on the bench for a few hours at night before getting up and rinsing himself off in the small man-made lake before people would begin to show up.

It was the second week since he'd left his home to decay that he finally ran out of food.

Levi wandered around the city, using his looks and young stature to earn enough pity from passing women, and a few men, to spare him enough change to keep himself eating at least once a day. It was then that he stumbled upon, what appeared to be an old run-down apartment building. He passed it several times, contemplating whether or not to risk breaking and entering the place, but after his fourth week on the streets he'd given up on caring.

Late one chilly night, he snuck into the building using a stairwell attached to the side of it; he climbed to the top and managed to pull himself up the ladder and onto the roof. He rested on the rooftop for about an hour before attempting to open the door that lead into the building. Anxiety built up in his small, starved system, as he pulled open the door, both surprised and happy to see that it was unlocked.

He crept inside the dark and not much warmer building before shutting the door behind him. That night, he slept in the corner of that small space, between the roof access door and the stairwell that lead further into the building.

He awoke to the sound of roughly blowing wind, hitting the metal of the door and sharply passing by the protrusion of the roof entrance. He stretched and allowed the blood to flow into his numb feet before cautiously creeping down the stairwell and into the maze of halls that he found himself in.

There were many doors, almost like a hotel, but Levi was too nervous to try and open any of them. Too nervous, too tired, and too hungry to do more than he deemed necessary, that is until he heard distinct sound of a gun firing, and smelled the gun powder as it wafted through the air.

He felt his heart beat increase as he nervously gulped and scrambled into the first room he could. He crawled atop a metal shelf and forced the rusty vent screen over the crawl space, off. He regretted his action soon after as the screen fell to the ground, making a loud clattering noise. Despite this, he quickly pulled his small body into the space and distanced himself from the smell of gun powder and the shuffling of feet that followed his noise making.

Levi steadied himself in the crawlspace and managed to find himself above an empty room. He decided to rest there, slowing his breath as much as he could as he listened to his surroundings. His heart rate gradually slowed and he let a small sigh of relief escape his cracked and chapped lips. This peace lasted long enough for his eyes to slowly drift close, as he fell into a fatigue induced sleep.

* * *

His slumber was interrupted when the door to the room he was above, burst open, soon, several angry male voices reached Levi's ears, awakening his senses and shocking him out of his sleep. The shock made him jerk his body, causing his already flimsy space to shake, Levi cursed as he heard the men below him stop talking.

"What the fuck was that?" One of the voices asked, the nervous tone in his voice made him sound younger, and more inexperienced.

"Who's there? Show yourself unless you want a bullet in your face." Came another, steady, and older sounding voice.

Levi frozen, trying his best not to move or even breath, taking breaths as shallow and slow as his body would allow. Unfortunately, due to the decay of the building and the jolt of his body when he was awoken, the vent began to creak and give way under his weight, now that it was loosened more than it had been before.

Within seconds of his eyes widening in realization, the vent collapsed, sending Levi crashing down towards the two occupants in the room.

He landed with a heavy thud on the carpeted floor, his face scraping against the carpet and his skin burning as he fell and slid across it. The younger male quickly grabbed Levi by the back of his neck and hoisted his flailing, and protesting frame up, keeping his feet from touching the ground. Levi stopped his thrashing when he felt cold hard metal pressing onto the side of his face.

"Who the fuck are you and who sent you kid?"

Levi, frozen with fear and anger, could only glare at the older gentleman standing before him. The one holding him shook him, grip tightening on the back of his neck as he slapped Levi on the cheek with the back of his gun.

"I said who sent you, you piece of shit." The man holding the gun raised his voice at the boy again.

The hit brought him back to his senses as he shakily replied, "N-no one. No one sent me. I wandered in on my own." He felt tears prickling his eyes, blurring his vision as the pain overtook him.

The man holding him shook him again, this time lowering Levi to the ground and pushing him to knees. He landed a swift and heavy footed kick to his back, causing Levi to slump forward and cry out in pain.

"I WAS COLD. I-I was cold. N-no one sent me. I-" His desperate sobbing was cut off by another kick in the side, making him curl into a tight ball to protect his frail body as the man continued to assault him with kicks.

"That's enough. Stop kicking him." Came the command of the older man. The kicks stopped immediately and the younger man stepped back. The older man who issued the order bent down and forced Levi's bloodied and swelling face up, "you got anywhere to go kid?"

Levi searched the man's face, offering the best questioning look he could managed with his features distorted from the swelling, redness, and blood. He couldn't shake his head, so he spoke as loudly as he could, "N-no sir."

The man slackened his grip on Levi hair, and let his head fall back to the carpeted floor. The rest that followed was a blur, his consciousness faded in and out as he was lifted and his wounds were dressed. He was cleaned and force fed before he was locked in a damp room with a bed and urination bucket. After a few days of being locked away, while his wounds healed, Levi was woken up by the same elderly man who'd allowed him to stay in his current pit.

"Welcome to the legion kid, starting today you're one of us, and you'll be expected to earn your keep."

Those words would guide Levi through his troubled teen years, and into his early adulthood as quickly rose in rank, attaining the coveted title of "Corporal" as he abandoned both the beauty and the horror of his past.

* * *

He would have stayed with the syndicate if it wasn't for the change in leadership that took place five years after his induction into the legion. The old boss was deemed too old and too soft to handle the young, hot blooded members who made up the majority of the legion, so the boss's son took over. He changed everything.

They were no more than a band of well organized, respected, and infamous thieves before, but with the change of leadership, they became a messy, feared, and wicked gang of murderers who looted what they wanted, whether or not they had to kill for it. Under the old boss, there were no deliberate deaths made in cold blood. Under the new boss, entire families, and unlucky strangers that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, were brutally mutilated and murdered for sport.

This is not what Levi joined.

His group would rough people up, not kill them, not mutilate them. They didn't rape women and children. They didn't skin people alive. They didn't kill entire families starting from the infants and ending with the grandparents for entertainment.

This is not what Levi joined.

These were not the people who raised him to be a street smart thug who took only what he needed to survive.

No.

These were cold blooded and heartless maniacs. Murderers. Psychopaths. And they were starting to trigger the memory of Uncle Felix_. _

_This is not what Levi joined._

This is not what he wanted. He did not want to stay, he refused to stay. 'I have to leave… I need to get away from this place. This is not who I am… I don't want to be like him.'

* * *

"_I'm done. I'm leaving. I didn't agree to join a group of cold blooded murderers." The stern and steady voice of the short, dark haired male echoed off the cold metal walls of the abandoned building he and numerous other suspicious characters occupied._

"_That wasn't the deal you piece of shit."…_


	2. Our First Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N**

**This chapter is coming out a bit early because my work schedule is really hectic this weekend/week. You can expect the next chapter to be out Wednesday, possibly Thursday. **

**Thank you so much for the follows/favorites! I hope you enjoy.**

**Guest Reviewer: Thank you for the encouragement! I hope this update doesn't disappoint~!**

**Chapter One – Our First Meeting**

"I'm done. I'm leaving. I didn't agree to join a group of cold blooded murderers." The stern and steady voice of the short, dark haired male echoed off the cold metal walls of the abandoned building, he, and numerous other suspicious characters occupied.

"That wasn't the deal you piece of shit." Spat one of the other men in the room, he slowly approached the smaller man, fists clenched at his side for a moment before he gradually crouched into a fighting stance, ready to strike as soon as the boss gave the word.

"Corporal," the man commanding the group of thugs started, "you're going to regret this… you're one of our best…so I'll still let you reconsider." He paused and stepped off of his seat, walking towards the 'Corporal,' surrounded by thugs. He stopped a little less than a foot from the shorter male, and stuck out the tip of his boot.

"Just take back what you said. Kneel down and kiss my boot," he flicked the tip of his boot for added emphasis, "beg for your life, and I'll consider letting you go with just a few bruises for this insolence. You know who your family is, and family doesn't turn its back on each other."

The black haired man lowered his head, fists loosely balled at his sides as he spoke, "Family? The only _family_ I have is dead; you assholes are hardly worth being called _shit_, let alone family. It's insulting." He raised his head, sharp gray eyes boring holes into the dull brown ones of the older male in front of him. "Go fuck yourself, and your precious _family_. Cause I'm not a fucking part of it." He punctuated his sharp and spiteful words with the tightening of his fists, raising them higher into a fighting stance, ready to take on the group of thugs who showed up for his parting beat down. The fate of anyone who went against the boss or disagreed with the way the syndicate operated. Only a few others before Levi had done this, and even fewer had survived it.

"Suit yourself, _Corporal_." The older man stepped back and raised his hand, "kill this bastard." He stepped further away, walking towards a door in the back of the room and left the group of overzealous thugs to make mince meat of Levi, who was once his right hand man.

* * *

After beating down four guys, nearly twice his size, Levi managed to get his hand on a pocket knife. He stabbed and cut a few others who came at him, expertly dodging their wild and sluggish movements.

His smaller frame and size allowed him to glide through the group of thugs like a ravenous wolf, ripping through a gang of unfit elk. He'd managed to get through about a third of the men participating in his farewell beating with just a few scratches on his face. The last two thirds were a bit more troublesome.

He thought about escaping and simply outrunning the out of shape buffoons while he still had the energy, but the likely hood of getting caught in an ambush outside was still high. Less than an eighth of the syndicate members were present in the room.

He was sure the boss just wasn't going to let him go, he was one the best members that had ever been a part of the legion. He was also certain that he wouldn't escape completely unscathed, but he was not expecting to run out of stamina as quickly as he had been. It was like the faster he knocked them out, the more and faster they came. It seemed endless.

Levi finally decided to risk being set up, and broke in a full sprint towards the door the boss had gone through. Taking a fraction of second to let his eyes adjust to the brightness of the narrow hallway, he ascertained that there were no others waiting to attack him.

He quickly ran down the narrow pathway, making a few turns before he reached the stairwell he'd been searching for. He began his speedy ascent, feeling somewhat winded from his haste.

After climbing three stories, he ran up and threw open the door to the rooftop. It was dark and beginning to rain. 'Perfect, this will cover up my tracks once it picks up.' He was thankful for the rain; if it got heavier it would provide a good cover for the sound of his running, and lower the visibility of his chasers.

He spotted the rusted, and less than sturdy, ladder leading down to an equally suspicious stairwell that would lead him to the alleyways. He took a breath and began to hurry down the ladder. Just as he got to the jangling stairwell, he heard the door being forced open and the angry and winded shouts of men searching for him.

He quickened his pace and regretted it the moment he did, the rain he'd been thankful for only moments before, came down harder than he was expecting, soaking through his clothing and making the already dangerous descent even more perilous. He lost his footing and slipped down a few steps, slamming his ankle against one of the side rails.

"Fuck!" He let out the loud curse, which alerted his pursuers of his position. Muttering a few more curses he forced himself to go on, despite his protesting and throbbing ankle. He landed with a less than graceful thud in the alleyway, covering himself with mud and other specimen that littered the dumping grounds.

He continued his run, at a much slower pace, now that his ankle had been nearly compromised; cursing each time it hit the ground.

It was another fifteen minutes of sloppy running and swerving in and out of the alleyways he'd once called home before he slipped and fell, landing on the already weak and throbbing ankle. The few men who'd managed to keep up with the ex-corporal were on him within moments, kicking, spitting and punching whatever part of his body they could reach. He managed to bring himself to a standing position, getting a few good hits on two of the men, and a good kick that he regretted as soon as it landed on another, leaving only one man to finish.

After the kick to the third man, Levi lost his footing and slipped on the wet and cold ground, scraping his arm and a knee in the process. The last man came at him with a blade, Levi crouched and barely avoided a knife in the face, he then tripped the man and dragged him, kicking and screaming across the muddied concrete ground. He grabbed the knife and forced it out of the man's protesting palm, and finally lodged it the back of his neck, giving it a strong twist and stopping when he heard the sickening, yet satisfying crunch of the vertebrae severing.

Levi sat, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, letting the heavy and cold rainwater wash away the blood and mud that covered his drenched and injured body.

He slowly pulled himself up, limping away from the scene to distance himself, lest others managed to find him.

He managed to keep going, sore, bloodied and bruised, with more than a few broken ribs, and a swelling, possibly fractured ankle, for thirty more minutes before he collapsed in an unfamiliar alleyway. He pushed his aching and tired body up against the brick wall, hiding himself behind a dumpster. He looked up into the blackened sky, rain pouring down onto his face as his breath began to slow.

"Shit." He started to let out a frustrated sigh but stopped, cringing at the ache he felt in his chest, 'I got really fucked up.' He let his eyes drift close, trying to ignore the ache and throbbing, radiating throughout his body and in his ankle, reaching down into this foot and further up his calf.

Soon, the ache started to dull as his body became numb from the pouring, cold rain. He was completely soaked through to the bone, skin wrinkling and fingertips taking on a red, then purplish color as his body fought to stay warm. He remained in the alleyway, consciousness fading in and out for several hours, late into the night.

* * *

Three days before Levi's departure from the legion, a new teen's widowed and single mother, departed on her own journey, a ten-day long business trip to be exact, leaving her thirteen year old daughter Eren, home alone for the first time.

"Eren make sure you take out the trash every day. I don't want to come home and find a bug infestation because you 'didn't feel' like doing your chores." Carla Yeager emphasized the 'didn't feel' with dramatized air quotes as she addressed her 'newly teenaged' daughter. "Eren, are you listening to me? Eren!?"

"Yes I am geez mom, I get it. Take out the trash, wash the dishes, and do the laundry." The teen spoke with birthday induced arrogance still high in her system since she'd turned thirteen only one week prior to their conversation.

Carla walked over to her daughter, who was sitting comfortably sprawled out on their small, camel colored leather sofa. She walked around the sofa and directly into Eren's line of sight, blocking her view of the cartoon she'd been paying more attention to than her mother.

"Hey I can't see!" Eren protested, pulling herself up and trying to look around her mother's form.

Carla huffed, placing one hand on her hip and the using the other to grab a hold of Eren's ear, pulling it up and towards her as she spoke. "This place better be spotless while I'm gone young lady. It's clean now, no thanks to you, and I do not want to clean anything when I get back because I'm going to be exhausted. You didn't want to have Petra babysit you anymore so you're going to have to accept the responsibility of being alone and caring for yourself. If you don't shape up right now and stop acting like a spoiled child, then I'm going to go and call Petra and have her stay with you. Do you understand me young lady?"

Eren groaned in protest and her ear was yanked in response. She grabbed a hold of her mother's hand to try and lessen the pinching and pulling pressure on her earlobe, "I get it. I'm sorry mom, I get it! Everything will be spotless and in order so please, just let me stay alone this one time! I'm a teenager now; I don't need to be babysat anymore!"

The pressure on her ear lessened as Carla's hand fell slack, she let it drop to Eren's face and dropped her other hand from her hip to do the same, cupping Eren's cheeks. She leaned her head down and tilted their foreheads so that they were touching.

"You know I'm only saying this because I'm worried Eren. I'm not trying to upset you." She then moved her hands down and squeezed Eren into her chest. "It's so hard for me to leave you alone, my baby girl, I feel so anxious just thinking about it." She squeezed a bit harder, but let up when she felt Eren's arms wrap loosely around her.

"I know mom, but I'll be okay. I'm not a little kid anymore so don't worry so much." Eren buried her face closer into her mother as she whispered, "I love you."

Carla stepped back, releasing Eren from the hug as she walked over to an end table and grabbed a Kleenex tissue from the box. Her eyes watered as she looked at her daughter thinking, 'She's grown into such a beautiful young woman… sooner or later I'll have to let her go. This is just practice Carla. Practice.'

The rest of the night before Carla's morning departure consisted of both females running around their cramped, yet cozy apartment, cleaning and packing things. Carla left early in the morning, pausing to kiss Eren on the cheek, while she continued to sleep before her alarm woke her and she prepared to leave for school.

Three days later, Eren returned home from her usual routine of waking, dressing, and going to school. When Eren got home that evening, she felt too lazy to cook anything for herself and had already finished off all the leftover's Carla had made. She decided to take a quick walk down the street to a little convenience store and buy a few ready to eat lunches and microwave meals. That same night, Levi managed to hide his bloodied and bruised form between the brick wall of Eren's apartment building, and the dumpster that the residents used.

* * *

She'd just finished eating a premade, convenience store grade salad and sandwich, which she downed with a bottle of ice cold water. After sitting on the sofa for another hour, while the remnants of the meal she'd eaten lay wasting on an end table, Eren finally decided to start her chores. She'd honestly put them off the first several days and the apartment was beginning to smell from the decaying waste left in the trashcan.

"I better start cleaning." She said aloud, allowing a dramatically deep sigh to escape her lips as she dragged herself to the kitchen to wash the few dishes and prepare the trash to, finally, be taken out. After another hour and several dramatic eye rolls, and groans later, Eren had managed to gather enough trash to fill two large bags.

She experimented by trying to lift both, and decided to just carry one down, the smelliest one, and then take the other with her in the morning before she left for school. She picked up the smellier of the two offending bags and left her apartment, shutting the door snuggly behind herself and continuing on down the hallway to the elevator.

When the doors opened, she hit the button with a 'G' on it, for ground floor and waited as the elevator began its slow and noisy descent from the fourth floor to the first. After several annoying moments of dinging and metal sliding against metal, Eren finally exited the cramped, mobile space and made her way down another narrow hallway and into the room that connected the apartment complex and the alleyway. She set the bag down and fiddled with the door, finally getting it open and walking outside, only to let a groan escape as she saw how hard it was raining.

With a frustrated huff, she walked out into the rain and towards the giant blue metal dumpster, leaving the door propped open. She quickly surveyed the area to make sure that there were no animals ready to pounce on her for the trash, and hurried over to bin. She let out an annoyed sigh when she saw a shadowed form lying next to the dumpster thinking, 'Wow, someone was too lazy to actually throw it in.'

Then she got closer.

The faint light from the opened doorway allowed her to see that the crumpled form was not a pile of trash that one of the lazier occupants of her building decided to leave. No, it was a person. A man, a soaking wet man who looked like he was barely breathing.

Eren panicked and dropped the bag of trash, rushing over to the man's limp form. "Hey, are you okay?" She started, "Hello? Can you hear me?" She tried to shake him but the only thing she got in response was a weak grunt and barely audible "fuck."

She looked around the alleyway and out towards the streets to see if there was anyone there who she could run to and ask for help, but she saw no one. It was late and pouring, of course there wouldn't be people just running around in an alley. Unless they were this guy apparently.

She gently and hesitantly placed her hands on the man's face, tilting his head up to see if he would respond better. Eren cradled his face in one hand while the other lightly tapped his cheek, trying to get a reply from him.

"Hey, can you hear me?" She paused when one of his eyes opened and then continued a bit louder, "Are you okay? Can you stand? You need to get inside, you're freezing." She continued to ask questions and try and get the man to comply.

His unfocused eyes shut and then reopened, a bit more aware of his situation. He began to pull himself off the ground, and Eren crouched beside him, trying to help the man stand. 'Wow he's really heavy,' she thought as her weaker body struggled to support the semi-conscious man. "Can you walk?" she asked, struggling to stay upright against his heavily leaning form.

Her only response was a weak tilt of his head, and the lessening of some of the weight on her narrow, child-like shoulders. She began to move forward, slowly, and let a small smile splay on her face as she felt the man moving with her, supporting more of his own weight, but limping horribly.

The two finally made it back inside the building, while the trash was left, forgotten in the rain soaked alleyway. It seemed like the man was becoming more aware when they'd finally made it to the elevator and then up to Eren's floor, because Eren felt a little less burden on her shoulders as he focused more on supporting his own weight.

'Thank God I didn't lock the door,' she thought to herself as she weakly turned the knob, almost causing them both to lose their balance as they made their way inside. She nearly dropped the man onto her kitchen floor. She set him down, his upper body partly in the kitchen, while his lower body lay in the tiny entryway as Eren caught her breath and closed the door.

She went back to the man's side, placing her hands on his face once more to see if she could get him to speak. "Hey mister, you're gonna be okay now, I brought you inside and it's safe here." His eyes opened again, sluggishly looking around. They focused on her face for a moment, and then quickly fell shut again. Eren took this as his way of consenting and spoke again, a little softer than she previously had, "I'm going to go get some towels okay. You're soaking wet, so try and wake up so you can dry off." His eyes remained closed and a small "tch" escaped his pale and faintly blue lips.

Eren's eye widened when she realized just how pale the man was. He was pallid, wet, and there were visible signs of bruising as well as cuts and small gashes on the small amount of skin she could see. She hurried to her side of the apartment, running to her bathroom to pull out several large fluffy towels and a few smaller ones for his face. She stopped by the linen closet and grabbed a blanket as well before rushing back to dry, the now trembling man.

The first thing she did was dry his face off, and then she wrapped a hand towel around his head to help dry it and keep it warm. She then threw a large towel over the majority of his body, just to help keep the air off of him as she moved down towards his feet to remove his drenched boots.

She removed the boot from his right foot without a problem and took the sock along with it; she then dried it and wrapped it in another hand towel before moving on to the left one. Eren stopped and quickly lifted her hands away when she heard the pain filled "Huuuh" that escaped the barely conscious stranger's mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, are you okay, I'll stop." She quickly said.

"N-no… it's … okay," was the slow and labored response.

Eren hesitated a moment longer before returning, more gently, to the task of removing the boot and then finally the sock. Her eyes widened again at the sight before her. His left ankle was larger and puffier than the right one, inflamed and bruised. The bruising was past the yellow color that showed on his face, it was greenish, with a one spot turning a deep purple while the majority of the ankle and the immediate part of the foot connected to it was red and swollen. Eren sucked in a quick and nervous breath as she gently, pat dried his injured foot. She didn't wrap it like the other one, choosing instead to the let towel just lay on top of it.

She moved up towards the rest of his body, removing the towel and trying to get the man to sit up. She managed to help him into an upright position, resting against the wall of the entryway while she nervously removed the soaking wet jacket and the button down shirt beneath it.

His body was just as pale and marred as his face. Scratches and bruises littered nearly every inch of his scarred flesh. There were large blotchy bruises on his ribcage, stretching from right under his left pectoral to his diaphragm. He also had a strange tattoo, right above his heart. It appeared to be a pair of overlapping, stylized wings. One was just outlined, allowing his pale and bruised skin to show through while the other was solid black.

Eren dried the rest of his body while trying as best she could to be gentle and not aggravate his injuries. She then hurried to her mother's bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit hoping to find something to help dress his wounds. She found a tube of disinfecting and pain minimizing cream for cuts and scratches. Using this, with gloved hands, she spread a generous amount on his face and upper body. She then sprayed his chest and arms with disinfectant spray and covered him with band aids.

She wrapped him loosely with the blanket and moved down to prop and cradle his injured ankle with the rest of the towels. She got a zipper bag from the pantry and filled it with ice, then placed that on the man's ankle and wrapped it loosely with towel to help keep it in place.

Satisfied with her first aid care, she rushed to her bedroom to look for her cell phone so she could call the police.

_"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" _

"Hello, I have an injured man in my apartment, I don't know who he is or where he came from but I found him and brought him inside because it was cold and raining and I tried to help his as best as I could but I'm home alone and he's injured really bad and please help…" Eren gushed to the operator, nearly bursting into tears as gravity the situation began to sink in.

_"Are you okay miss? How old are you?"_

"I-I'm fine. He's the one that's injured, I'm okay. Um, I'm twe- thirteen." She corrected herself, still not used to saying her new age.

_"Where are you sweetheart? I will send help as soon as I can."_

"I'm in Trost Apartments. Unit 401. It's the last apartment to the left on the fourth floor." Eren breathed out.

_"Okay, I'm connecting to the nearest unit that is in your area. Please stay on the line."_

Eren began to breathe heavily, nearly hyperventilating until the soothing voice on the other end of the line stopped and a gruff, male voice sounded through her phone, bringing her back to her senses.

_"Can you describe the injured person?"_

"U-um okay. He's pale, black hair, um male… I don't know his eye color because his eyes don't stay open long enough. Um, he's kinda short and he has a weird tattoo of wings on his chest. I don't know if he has any others and I don't feel comfortable looking."

The line suddenly went silent.

"Hello?" there was no response. "Officer? Hello?" Eren began to panic; she removed her phone from her face and realized that the call had ended.

"Did they just hang up on me? No, wait, was the call dropped?" She sighed audibly and paced her living room briefly, before deciding to try and call back.

The second time she called she received a message stating that all the operators were currently busy with calls. 'Is that even possible?' She thought to herself, she looked back down to the phone screen and realized that it was nearing midnight, 'How are they busy this late?'

She let out a frustrated sigh and then threw her phone at the sofa. She cautiously approached the man, who'd come to during her fruitless call.

"Hello…" Eren began, slowly approaching him, she was nervous because of how closely he was watching her. "Um… are you feeling any better. Do you want some painkillers?" She walked over to the medicine and vitamin cabinet and fished out a small bottle of ibuprofen, opening it and putting three into the palm of her hand. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and walked back over to the man, offering him the pills and the drink.

She stood awkwardly for several moments before he parted his lips, and stuck out his tongue, indicating that he wanted her to drop them in his mouth since he was too weak to lift his arms and do it himself. It took Eren a few seconds to process what the man was doing, before she gingerly dropped the pills into his mouth and tipped the bottle of water to his lips for him to swallow.

"Thanks kid." He said, his voice was low and sounded rough.

"You're welcome." Eren said, offering a small smile, despite the strange situation she'd placed herself in. She squatted there for a little while longer, occasionally tipping the water bottle for the man to drink before she questioned him again, "Are you okay… or… no never mind, you don't really look too great." She stopped then looked back up at him, "Are you hungry?"

He gave a weak nod and watched her as she stood back up and walked back into the kitchen. He listened to her shuffling around, the tearing of paper, then of plastic, and then the beeping of a microwave. After several minutes passed, she walked back over with a small plastic bowl of meat and potatoes.

At first, she offered it to him, but then retracted it, choosing instead to get a forkful of the dish and offer that to him instead.

Levi opened his mouth to allow the girl to clumsily feed him, all the while watching her, as his body warmed and he became more alert and focused in this new, safer environment. He would have called it pleasant if it weren't for the fact that he was too injured to even feed himself.

She alternated between feeding him and letting him drink from the water bottle until he'd finished both the microwave dinner and the drink. He began to let his eyes shut again, as the girl wandered away into what he assumed was her bedroom.

He awoke abruptly when she returned and gently nudged him. "Do you think you can stand mister?" she asked politely, pointing towards a little pallet she'd made for him on the floor.

Levi offered a curt nod, and with a pained grunt, lifted himself and limped over to the pallet in the middle of the living room, with the help of the girl. She helped him lay down and then covered his body; she propped his injured ankle up on pillow and covered his feet with a shorter blanket. She even helped him adjust his head on the large fluffy pillow she'd laid out for him.

"Please rest up, I'm gonna try and find help again in the morning, so for now, I'm sorry, just bear with it." Levi nodded, and finally let his heavy eyelids drift shut. That night he dreamt of being saved by a young, angelic girl, with lovely and kind emerald eyes.

* * *

When Eren awoke the next morning, snug and warm in her bed, she realized that she'd slept through her alarm and was over two hours late to school. She also remembered having the weirdest, and oddly realistic, dream. She'd dreamt that she found an injured man near a dumpster and that she tried to nurse him back to health.

As she got ready for her day, already deciding to skip out on school since she'd already missed two, going on three of her six classes, she walked out of her bedroom and into the living room. She lazily scanned the room, yawned and continued into the kitchen, to make herself and the sleeping man something to eat.

….

'IT WASN'T A DREAM?'

Eren stopped pouring milk into the bowl and stood staring; mouth agape at the slumbering stranger on her living room floor. She decided to just accept that is was nothing more than the act of a Good Samaritan, which hopefully wouldn't lead to her premature death.

She ate her cereal and decided to make some oatmeal for the man, whose grunting had started again, so she assumed that meant he was waking up. She finished the mash and prepared a few more painkillers along with another bottle of water and walked over to sit on the sofa and wait for the man to wake up.

Within a few minutes of sitting there, she noticed movement under his lids, and then his eyes opened. He surveyed the room and then focused his gaze on Eren, allowing his predicament to set in before he slowly lifted his protesting body up.

Eren was by his side in an instant, helping to stabilize him and let him rest against the sofa for support. She set the bowl into his lap and offered him the pills, which he accepted and downed himself this time.

"Thank you." He said, this time, with a smoother quality to his voice. He then began to eat the oatmeal and quickly finished the meal before laying back down into his makeshift bed.

This continued on for the rest of the day, he'd sleep, and then wake up to eat then lay back down to rest. Eren had given up on trying to contact the police. It was like they'd suddenly blacklisted her number. She searched on the internet what to do about an injured ankle, and realized that her first aid kit had all the things she needed to dress the man's injury.

She let the ice set on it for half an hour and then removed it and wrapped it as best she could, so that it was compressed and the swelling would go down. That night, Eren fell asleep on the sofa, exhausted from caring for the injured and oddly quiet man.

* * *

When Levi awoke the next morning, it was just before dawn and still dark. He pulled himself into a sitting position, much stronger and well rested than he had been, though his body still ached and his ankle protested. He rewrapped his foot, allowing him to stand and hopefully walk without alarming any passerby's of his injury.

He removed the covers from himself and noticed the shivering girl sleeping on the sofa right next to the pallet he'd used as a bed on the floor. He smiled fondly, and gently stroked the hair out of her face. He covered her with the blankets she'd used for him, and tried as best he could to dress without making a sound.

Right before he cracked open the door; he gave the girl's sleeping figure one last, long glance and then exited, closing the door and soundlessly venturing into the early morning light.


	3. By Simple Coincidence? - Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**Apologies that I didn't have this posted yesterday. This week my work schedule was crazy and even my off days were busy. This chapter is short because I wanted to post what I had so far for you all, the second part will be out soon so keep a look out.**

**Also, thank you so much for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. This was a spur of the moment idea and I just can't even believe or thank you enough for all the feedback. I hope you enjoy! **

**On a side note, I'm only going to update this fic once a week, and my goal is to have a new chapter up every Thursday. **

**Chapter Two – By Simple Coincidence? – Part 1**

~~~~~~~~~~~~ _Four Years Later_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Eren, wake up you're going to be late to class." Carla Yeager yelled through her teenager's locked bedroom door. She glanced down at the time on her cell phone and she cursed to herself, 'I'm going to be late if I don't leave soon, I'll call Eren to make sure she's up when I get to the parking lot.'

She decided to knock lightly a few more times, hoping to rouse her seventeen year old daughter from her slumber. Carla never like it when Eren locked her door, it annoyed her to no end, but she still tried to keep her temper under control. Eren was almost an adult, and soon she'd be off to college, meet someone nice, and start a life with a family of her own. Carla sighed as she knocked on the door one more time, "EREN! GET UP!" she screamed through the door, trying to keep her voice as soft, yet stern as possible.

She wasn't angry with Eren, but when she raised her voice, she couldn't help but notice how irritated she sounded. She decided to send her comatose daughter a text, hoping that she fell asleep with her cell phone ringer on while it charged over night, next to her bed.

Carla pulled on a light jacket and walked out of the door towards the elevator, on a straight path to her van. When she was finally in her vehicle, buckled up, and on the road, she started to think back to Eren, hoping that she at least woke up and made it to the last week of classes before she had her fall exams. Winter break was soon, she knew Eren, as well as every other student in the country around the same time, was exhausted.

She thought back to Eren's childhood, remembering her sweet and rounded young face, so childish and innocent. 'They grow up so fast. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was changing her diapers, and then I blinked, and she was already a young woman.' She let thoughts such as this consume her mind as she neared her work place, and finally pulled into the parking garage. She parked and sent Eren another text, hoping that she would wake up in time to at least catch the bus.

When Carla got out of the elevator and made it to her desk, she felt her phone vibrate.

_Eren: Thanks for the text mom.. I slept through my alarm. and I'm gonna be late to my first class, because I have to walk, so don't be surprised if you get a letter about my attendance. I'm going over to Mikasa's later, so I won't be there when you get home. Love you. Received 7:59 AM._

She smiled as she read through the message. "Oh Eren, what would you do without me, you silly girl."

She typed back,

_I love you too Eren. Be careful on your way, don't talk to strangers and don't make eye contact with anyone. Also, take a few extra bottles of water with you just in case you notice someone who needs one. Sent 8:02 AM_

About twenty minutes passed before Carla felt her phone buzzing again.

Eren: _How the heck can I notice if anyone needs it if I'm not supposed to look at people? I'm on my way now, text you when I get there, unless I forget. I have an extra bottle and snacks. Received 8:27 AM_

Carla laughed at the message, set her phone down, and went back to writing the email she'd been working on to the president of the pharmaceutical branch, at the request of her boss, the CEO of the branch. 'I hope Eren makes it alright.' She gave her personal thoughts one last moment before she returned to the task at hand, planning the business trip for spring of the following year.

* * *

Eren jumped out of bed when she saw the time on her phone. "Oh shit I'm going to be late again." She rushed to her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face to help wake herself up.

She brushed her teeth, put on a thin line of eye liner and a coat of mascara, then threw her clothes off and rushed back to her bedroom to find clean underwear. After several more minutes of her running back and forth between her bathroom, bedroom, and closet, she was finally dressed, groomed, and ready to go.

She paused to grab her wallet and place it, and her cell phone, into her gray canvas cross body bag, along with an extra water bottle and a few snack bars just in case she ran into any homeless people on the way to school. Her mother always taught her to help those less fortunate including the injured, poor, and the homeless. Eren opened the door and made her way out, locked it, then started towards the elevator.

While riding down, she checked her messages and smiled when she saw her mom's reply. She quickly typed back that she already had extra snacks and water, and remembered to mention that she was going over to Mikasa's later. They planned on having a movie and junk food night to celebrate the 'almost end' of their last fall semester in high school.

She cringed when she saw the time on her phone after sending the message. "I've already missed the first half of class… might as well skip the whole thing,' she thought as she walked out of her complex then crossed the street, she continued down the sidewalk to one of her frequently visited stops.

'I'm hungry anyway,' she mused as she neared the little convenience store. She walked through the automatic sliding doors and made a beeline straight towards the coffee. She poured herself a small cup, added four sugars, and an indecent amount of creamer. She then turned and wandered towards the snack aisle, idly perusing while she sipped at her less than bitter drink. Finding nothing appealing in the prepackaged snack food aisle, she walked over to the 'made fresh daily' display where she picked up a few fresh doughnuts, getting a chocolate glazed one for herself, glazed for Armin, and a few doughnut holes for Mikasa, who wasn't fond of too many sweets.

She finally made her way towards the counter to pay. She set her selection down on the counter space and began digging through her bag to find her wallet. The new clerk was a younger man who looked to be in his early twenties or late teens, close to Eren's age.

A low whistle sounded, making Eren look up from her task of locating her wallet. Her brows scrunched in confusion when she saw the clerk lick his lips and whistle again. She turned around and looked behind her, trying to see if there was anything worth whistling at in the store. 'Hmm, there's just those two officers in here…what the heck is he whistling at?' she thought, turning back to meet the clerks amused face with a confused face of her own.

"You're cute, come here often?" the clerk asked, resting an elbow on the counter as he leaned forward, getting closer and into Eren's personal space. He still hadn't touched her items.

"A-ah… yea, I live down the street so I stop by a lot…"Eren answered nervously.

"So you're close by huh?" He said, pushing her items to the side as if they weren't what he was paid to ring up.

'Shit, Eren, you idiot why didn't you lie.' She cursed to herself, stepping back a bit from the counter. He just leaned forward a bit more, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"How old are you cutie?"

"S-seventeen." Eren stated, distancing herself further back from the counter. She wasn't even thinking about the other two occupants of the store, let alone considering the possibility that they might be standing behind her in line.

But one of them was. A short, black haired man with a decorated uniform and a police cap to complete the look. He had a gun holstered to his right hip and a baton to his left. He stood, a short distance from Eren, watching the display unfold before him, his unoccupied hand was clinched into a tight, shaking fist, while his other held a steaming cup of black coffee.

Eren backed up far enough to bump into this man, accidentally of course. She caused him to drop his steaming cup and it splashed on his pant leg and Eren's burgundy tight covered calves.

"Shit!"

"Ahh!"

The two shouted simultaneously. The officer jumped back and Eren jumped forward and back towards the creepy clerk at the counter.

She turned around and saw that she caused the officer to spill his coffee. Eren blanched, mouth opening in silent terror as she tried to remember how to speak so she could apologize to him.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"he cut her off with his hand directly in her face.

"Calm down, it's just coffee. It's not your fault anyway kid." He said, directing his malicious stare to the man behind the counter, who acted as if nothing had even happened while he started to ring Eren up.

"That will be $5.86 babe." The clerk stated, completely ignoring the situation that he caused.

Eren turned and glared at the man, "can I have some napkins please?" The clerk rolled his eyes and threw a small towel into Eren's outreached hand. She didn't even bother thanking him.

She turned around and bent down, trying her best to dry off the officer, who stood there, watching her pat his leg dry. "You shouldn't be the one doing this," he said, staring down at her crouched form, "that asshole should be over here cleaning up this mess," He stated, looking up only for a moment to send an icy glance at the man, making him shudder, before looking back down at the girl. He bent down and stilled her hands. "It's alright," he said as he met her wide and nervous eyes, grabbing the towel from her hand and throwing it on the coffee soiled floor. He rose, holding onto her arm to lift her with him.

Among many of the other things Eren's mother used to teach her, including bringing extra items such as water bottles or granola bars to offer to someone who looked hungry or parched, she was taught to never, ever, cross a police officer. They were to be respected and treated with kindness, but most importantly, she was taught never to argue with one, because that could only ever go wrong.

Eren stood, locking her eyes with her shoes while the shorter officer continued to hold her forearm with a firm grip. "Grab your things and get going kid" he said as he released her arm.

She looked up from her shoes with a questioning expression, searching for an explanation. She found none.

The officer walked over to the counter and grabbed the bagged doughnuts and the cooling coffee and put them into Eren's hands. "I said to go." He stated more firmly, pushing Eren towards the door with a flick of his hand between her shoulder blades.

"But I haven't paid for these yet?" she said, turning around. She stopped when she saw the angry look on the officer's face.

"Go." He said more firmly. He then directed his attention to the punk behind the counter who was still watching Eren, he winked at her, and pursed his lips into a mocking kiss, completely ignoring the short officer and the tall blonde that had approached the scene.

Eren nodded and darted out of the store, she gasped when she got outside, feeling the wintry air make the wet stain on her tights cold. "Shoot" she said, turning back towards her apartment to return and change.

Levi turned and watched as Eren hurried towards her apartment, then he turned back to the counter and grabbed the collar of the punk clerk. "Look here you little fuck, talk to that girl again and I swear I will find you when I'm off duty and fuck you up," he hissed into the man's ear.

The clerk froze for a moment, but then smirked, "I wouldn't do that if I were you bub," he said smugly, "that is if you know what's good for you." He grabbed Levi's wrist and tightened his hand around it, to try and loosen his grip. Levi just jerked the man forward more, knocking him against the counter before throwing him back and releasing him. He dug into his back pocket and pulled out a few bills to pay for a coffee, some doughnuts, and to cover the girl's expenses.

The clerk angrily accepted the bills, a grimace plastered on his face during the entire exchange. He handed the officer his change and leaned forward, turning his head to the side to reveal a tattoo of overlapping wings at the base of his neck, "you're going to regret this you son of bitch" he hissed back, his voice low and full of malice. He straightened his collar and walked into the back of the shop to get cleaning supplies to finally do his job, and deal with the mess he partially caused.

"Levi?" the blonde officer questioned.

Levi huffed, glaring at the old but familiar emblem and walked back towards the coffee station to pour himself another cup. He and Erwin, his patrol partner, exited the convenience and made their way back to the parked squad car.

"What was all that about?" Erwin questioned again.

"Nothing, I just don't like it when pigs think it's okay to approach angels."

Erwin raised a thick blonde brow at the mention of 'angels,' but said nothing more as he walked around to the driver's side and slid into the vehicle. He and Levi sat in the car without speaking, listening only to the sound of reports from the radio, and each other's breathing which was interrupted by the occasional sound of chewing or sipping of coffee.

Levi perked to attention when he saw the girl crossing in front of the alleyway that he and his partner were parked in. He set his drink down and jumped out the car, walking towards her.

"Hey, kid," he started; he looked down and noticed that she'd changed her soiled burgundy tights to forest green ones. "Why aren't you in school right now?"

Eren froze when she heard the stern voice behind her, she turned to see the officer she'd spilled coffee on earlier, and mentally cursed. 'It looks like I'm going to miss second period too...'

"U-um, I actually woke up late sir, my mom already left for work and I missed my bus so I have to walk..." she said tensely. She directed her gaze back down, trying to avoid looking directly at the intensely glaring officer.

"Do you need a ride?"

Eren looked up, surprise adorning her features. She allowed the offer to process for a moment while she weighed her options, 'decline and continue walking in the cold for 30 minutes and miss half of second period or accept and spend 5 minutes in a warm car with an officer escort?' she smiled a little and looked up at the officer, nodding and saying, "Wow, that would be great, thank you."

He nodded once and turned around, "alright, follow me kid."

He opened the back door to the squad car and let her slide in. "The back seat is meant for criminals, so don't freak out when you can't open the door alright? I'll let you out when we get there." She nodded and he closed the door, and then sat into his own seat.

She watched him exchange a few whispered words to his partner and then turn to address her, "what high school are we taking you to?"

"Maria High," she said, sitting back and relaxing as best she could into the cool leather seating of the squad car.

The remainder of the ride was silent, save for a few alerts and messages being sent across the radio. When they arrived to the drop off zone, true to his word, Levi exited the car and opened the door for Eren to get out. "Be careful on your way home." He said before closing the door and returning to his own seat.

Eren nodded and hurried towards the entrance, hoping she would make it before second period started. Levi sat and watched her retreating form, until she was through the dark tinted glass doors, and no longer visible. He turned to Erwin and nodded, letting him know that he could drive away and return to their patrol.

* * *

Eren's day passed smoothly compared to her rough morning. She made it to second period before the late bell rang, and even remembered to text her mom and let her know she'd made it to class. She got through the rest of her morning classes, had a small lunch, and then powered through her afternoon classes, counting down the time until the last bell rang and she was on her way to Mikasa's for a pizza and party night.

The trio arrived at Mikasa's and ordered a couple of pizzas and different sodas to occupy their evening. Eren offered her friends the doughnuts she'd gotten earlier in the day and they ate them with gratitude while she told them about the creepy clerk and scary, but kind officer who saved her. The night passed on until it began to get late and Eren knew she would have to head home soon.

The trio said their goodbyes, Mikasa returned to her house while Eren headed back towards her apartment in the opposite direction of Armin's grandpa's house. Halfway to her home, she heard her phone ding; indicating that she'd received a text.

_Mom: We're out of milk and eggs, do you mind stopping by the store on your way home? I'm in the middle of something and I don't want to ruin it. Received 8:34 PM_

Eren sighed and crossed the street, not even bothering to respond to her mom's text.

Soon after she crossed over, the neon glare of the convenience stores lights came into view. Eren quickened her pace and walked into the store, picking up a jug of milk and a carton of eggs. She hurried to counter and paid, thanking the clerk, who was an older, and much more courteous than the man who had the earlier shift. She made her way of the store and back towards her complex, hurrying the whole way because something was bothering her. 'I feel like I'm being watched' she thought to herself, while frantically pressing the elevator button, vainly hoping that it would make the old contraption go faster. She didn't feel relief from the feeling of being watched until she made it to her floor and walked into her apartment, dead bolting the door and putting the items up before hurrying to her bedroom and locking the door.

* * *

The odd feeling she had of being watched was not an invention of her young imagination.

She was in fact, being watched.

Watched by a dark haired officer who was off duty. A dark haired man who'd just finished wiping the blood off his knuckles after he nearly beat a young member of his old syndicate to death in the alleyway across from Eren's apartment complex.

Levi kicked the limp, and bloodied form, further into the alleyway, preventing any passerby from seeing the mangled face of the punk convenience store clerk. He cracked his knuckles as he watched Eren enter her building and dash towards the elevator. He left the alleyway and walked towards the building himself, slipping in through the doors and glancing down the hall to watch Eren enter the elevator.

When she entered and the door closed, he walked over and stood in front of it, making sure that the number '4' lit up. When the circle of light stopped at floor four for a few moments, Levi turned and exited the building, satisfied that Eren had made it home unscathed for the night.

He was more than ready to bathe to get the smell of alley and trash off of him. Since his shift ended at work, he'd stationed himself outside Eren's complex and waited for her to return. He had grown concerned since it was already dark out and she'd hadn't come back, and that was when he noticed the familiar face of the asshole clerk, lurking across the street from Eren's place. He briefly thought to call his station and report the suspicious activity, but then he quickly disregarded the idea and decided to take matters into his own hands, it's not like the police would try and fuck with the legion anyway.

He beat the kid near to death and warned him if he ever caught him or any of the other members anywhere near Eren, he'd kill them on the spot.

Levi stalked towards his hidden car, parked behind one of the buildings abandoned by the legion, and drove home to shower and try to rid himself of the unpleasant, but growing urge to lock Eren away for her own safety.


	4. By Simple Coincidence? - Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**Wow the reception on this fic has been astounding. I'm flattered that you're all enjoying this. I would also like to apologize in advance if you find anything confusing, please feel free to message me or leave some feedback about any questions and I will happily try and clarify things for you!**

**Rowan Maxwell : I have a kink for officer and thug Levi so I just had to include both, I'm glad you like it :3 Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the latest update. **

**Chapter Three – By Simple Coincidence? – Part 2**

_~~~~~~~~~One Month Later – Winter Break- ~~~~~~~~~_

"Eren, where do you want to go?" Mikasa asked her friend as they walked down the street, slowly distancing themselves from Eren's apartment complex.

"I was thinking of getting some lunch or something. What about you guys?"

"Hmm, food sounds good," Armin spoke up, "but can we go somewhere cheap? I'm pretty much broke until my next paycheck." He grinned at the girls as they nodded their heads in approval.

"Sounds great" Eren added, "but, let's steer clear of the convenience store, there's a weirdo that works there and he gives me the creeps." To make her point, Eren hugged herself and shivered, turning back to look at her friends with an apologetic smile.

"Alright," Armin started, "why don't we try somewhere downtown? It's been a while since we've gone." He looked to the girls for approval.

"That could be fun," Eren winked and added, "we can do some window shopping too."

Mikasa nodded and the three of them started on their way to the closest bus station. After waiting fifteen minutes for the bus and purchasing passes, the trio was on their way to downtown Shinganshina for a cheap, but filling bite to eat, and an evening of wandering through the many unique boutiques, shops, and the outdoor museum that the arts district had to offer.

Several hours later, the trio began slowly making their way back the bus station, pausing every once in a while to look into shops that they skipped or looked over on their little outing.

It was nearing 9 PM and they collectively decided that it was too late for them to continue their wanderings; they headed straight for the bus and within an hour, were finally within walking distance of Eren's apartment.

After one block, they were nearing the ominous store that Eren had refused to go to since the incident two months earlier. After another block and a half, they had safely passed the store and were feet away from Eren's complex.

Just as they'd walked up, and nearly passed the dark alleyway, Eren heard a familiar and disturbing call.

"Ain't it bit late for you to be out alone babe?" Eren froze, alarming her two companions who stopped and looked into the alley, searching for the owner of the voice.

"Eren?" Mikasa drew closer to Eren's side, standing slightly in front of her in a protective manner. Armin followed in suit, standing between the two girls and the mysterious aggressor whose form was obscured by the shadows.

"Yea," Eren breathed out, the shock from hearing the voice finally fading. She gripped onto Mikasa's coat sleeve and squinted, trying to find the voices' owner. She took a step forward, still holding onto Mikasa and gripped the back of Armin's jacket to pull him further from the dark space. "W-who's there?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Aww, I'm hurt, you don't remember me cutie?" the voice questioned in a patronizing and sarcastic tone.

"No, I don't," Eren stated more firmly, holding her friends closer as she started to slowly move away from alley. "Just leave me alone okay? I don't want any trouble." She continued to speak as they neared the edge of building. She gently gripped and pulled on the collars of her two companions, whispering "get ready to run to the door okay, I think this is that freak from before."

They both did a quick nod and then turned their bodies to face away from the alley and towards the entrance to the complex. Eren took a quick breath and was about to give the signal when the voice cut her off.

"You know I could hear that you little bitch." The voice hissed.

Eren's eyes widened and she nudged her friends forward and shouted, "Now!"

They immediately ran towards the door, Mikasa in lead while Armin followed closely behind. Eren however, was caught by the braid she'd asked Mikasa to do for her before they left on their escapade.

"AHH!" Eren screamed in pain as the grip on her hair tightened and she was pulled back towards the dark alleyway. "Let me go damn it!" The more she pulled away, the more the ripping sensation of her roots separating from her scalp increased.

"LET GO YOU ASS-"a hand was roughly slapped over her mouth and she was lifted from the ground, kicking, and biting at the assaulting figure.

Mikasa and Armin heard her scream and ran back to the alley, Mikasa jumped on the man who held Eren off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck to try and cut off his air supply, at least long enough for him to drop Eren.

Armin joined the scuffle by tackling a man that tried to pull Mikasa off of the tallest assailant.

Mikasa finally succeeded in getting the man to release Eren and kneed the man in the back, then kicked the back of one of knees to force him down.

Eren fell to the ground when the man released her and she jumped up, turning around and kicking the man in the gut. He doubled over in pain from the assault from behind and in front.

"Eren go call the police!" Armin shouted from his position on the ground, he'd managed to keep the tackled man down, but was being steadily overpowered by the struggling man beneath him. Eren ran out of the alleyway while fumbling around in her purse for her phone. She pulled it out and started to dial the three digit number. Just as the operator's voice broke through the call, Eren's wrist was tightly gripped and the phone fell from her hand as she was pulled back into the darkness.

Her screams were muffled by a smelly piece of cloth that prevented her from biting her attacker. She started to writhe and kick, but he just tightened his grasp around her and pulled her further into the shadows. Panicking, Eren looked around to see how her friends were faring; the fear she already felt increased as she saw two men holding Mikasa down while another kicked her in the stomach, and at the same time, another man held Armin up against a wall and viciously punched his face. Tears began to swell in Eren's eyes as she looked away from the violent scene and tried to struggle out of her attackers grasp again, her screams, and cries stifled by the cloth.

"I asked you while you were out and alone so late babe," rancid, hot breath assaulted Eren's senses while her captor snickered against her neck, "that was your queue to ditch the dweebs, you could have saved them, but I think this show is much better," he forced her face back towards her friends, Armin's arms were limp at his sides while his face was a bloodied mess of torn flesh and matted, blood stained blonde locks. Mikasa was still struggling, spitting obscenities and curses even as blood dribbled down the side of her mouth.

"Once the show is over, I'm gonna take you back to my place and we'll have a little party of our own" he snickered and licked along the shell of Eren's ear, breathing his rotten breath over her face, "how's that sound, huh?" he punctuated his words with a rough thrust against her backside, "maybe I'll even let the boys over there join in." He tightened his grip around Eren's shaking body.

'Someone, anyone please help!' she cried desperately, praying that someone would at least save her friends. Her body shook with fear, both for her friends who might not live through the night and for whatever prospects the future held for her if this man was not stopped. As if answering her prayer, the tight grip on her body slackened and the repulsive laughter that had filled her ears ceased.

The hand that tightly gripped the cloth to her face fell, along with the limp form of her perverted attacker.

Eren quickly rushed towards the man assaulting Mikasa. Her tear filled eyes were wide and wild as she attacked the man. Lacking any coordination, she shoved him away from Mikasa and kicked and scratched at him.

The man had clearly had enough of her childish and amateur fighting style. He drew out a knife and offered Eren a wide and ominous grin, then rushed towards her terror frozen form with a mad glint in his eye.

Eren threw her hands up and over her face, to brace for the impact and to hide from the manic look of her new assailant as he ran towards her.

Then she heard a gunshot.

Then one, two, three more following the first.

Eren's eyes flew open and she dropped her hands to her sides. She surveyed the area, still shaking from fear. The man with the knife lay lifeless and crumpled, mere centimeters from Eren's shoes. She quickly turned and looked to Mikasa, and saw that the two men who had been holding her were equally as lifeless and laying on the ground, a similar scene for the man who'd beaten Armin to a pulp.

Eren searched for the owner of the gun and noticed a slight form at the back of the alley. She turned and looked over to it, eyes still full of tears, watching as the form rushed towards her. She quickly turned away and ran to Armin's side, lifting him off the ground, resting his beaten face in her lap.

"A-Armin?" she whimpered out. Her fingers ghosted over his forehead, gently pulling the blood matted hairs away. "Hey?" she spoke in a whisper, her voice still weak from screaming and crying. One eye slowly opened, revealing the reddened and aggravated cloudy blue orb. "Armin? Oh thank God, oh my God, Armin." Eren began sobbing, gently cradling her barely conscious friend in her lap.

The sound of several sirens broke Eren from her trance. She finally looked up from her position and began to register her surroundings. She heard two male voices behind her and immediately tensed, fearing that there were more thugs hiding out in the alleyway.

"Erwin, you take care of this one, I'm going to go check on the others."

Eren turned around and watched as the man from the back of the alley, the one who shot the thugs, ran over to her direction and kneeled at her side. Eren instinctively held Armin closer to her, lowering her body defensively.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." The man… no officer spoke, Eren realized that he was in a uniform and he had a badge. He held his hands up to show that he meant her no harm while she studied him for a moment longer.

Her eyes widened when she finally recognized him. "Y-you..."she weakly said, "you're that officer."

"Yes, I'm the one who helped out that day. I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner Eren. I'm so, so sorry." Levi looked down to the ground, feeling too ashamed to even look her in the eyes.

Eren was surprised by the pained look the officer held, but didn't question him on it. She was far too tired, finally feeling the fatigue wash over her after the traumatic experience.

"My friends" she looked over to Mikasa who was being placed on a gurney and strapped down by two paramedics, "please help them." Her eyes were filled with fresh tears as two other paramedics made their way over to her and Armin.

"They are going to be okay Eren, just let the professionals take care of them." Levi said gently, he didn't want to aggravate her already delicate temperament, "can you stand?"

Eren watched as the men lifted Armin and placed him on the gurney, strapping him down and rolling him towards the back of the ambulance, in a manner similar to how they treated Mikasa, professional, efficient, and full of care. She sighed with relief as they were taken away. 'Thank you.' She prayed quietly, feeling her eyelids become even heavier.

She turned and looked at the officer, then down at the ground as she attempted to push herself up. Failing at this, she turned back and looked up to him, shaking her head apologetically.

"It's okay," he spoke gently; "I'm going to pick you up okay?" Levi waited for Eren to nod and give him permission to touch her, before placing an arm around her torso and sweeping his other arm under her knees. In one swift motion, he lifted her exhausted form from the cold, filthy ground of the alley. Her head swung loosely from the movement, and he readjusted his grip so she was leaning all her weight against him.

"Do you want to go home or to the hospital?" he questioned as he walked out of the dark space. After a few seconds of silence, Levi spoke up again, "Eren?" he looked to her face and was barely able to make out a weakly spoken "home."

He strode past the paramedics and into her apartment building. Within a few minutes, he was in front of her unit, lightly kicking at the door, and waiting for her mother to answer.

He was silently thankful that Eren seemed physically unharmed, but was seething with rage at the filth that touched her. It was unacceptable, and it would never happen again.

He'd grown careless lately, having thought that his earlier warning had cut off the thug's advances towards Eren, but oh, how wrong he had been. And now her friends were in the hospital and he was standing in front of her apartment door once again. He'd always thought about what kind of situation would bring him back to this place, he'd often wondered about what it would be like to finally be able to return the favor to her… but now that he was getting the chance, he felt sick.

Levi felt sick with both the situation and himself. He actually liked the idea of her relying on him, he actually liked having her sleeping form in his arms, held tightly to his chest. She was safe there; she was safe with him, and only with him. This was becoming more and more apparent.

After a few more seconds and radical thoughts passed through his mind, the door was unlocked and opened, revealing a kind looking and gently aged woman who looked down at her sleeping daughter with both shock and relief flashing across her tired features. Levi stepped inside and asked for permission to put her in bed before returning and telling Eren's mother of all that transpired. Eren needed to go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as she woke up, and then they were to stop by the police station to get her statement, and discuss possible surveillance in the future. Eren's mother treated Levi with kindness and respect, although she was somewhat suspicious of how he knew where her daughter slept, she listened and agreed to his instructions.

* * *

_~~~~~~~ 3 Months Since the Incident and the Beginning of the Surveillance~~~~~~_

"Levi, you need to calm down." Erwin stated calmly.

"How can I be calm?" Levi spat at his partner. "What the hell do you mean that we aren't doing surveillance anymore?"

"I mean exactly what I said, they've decided to cancel the watch, we can't very well shadow that girl and her friends for the rest of their lives, it makes no sense. They seem to be out of danger anyway."

"Yea, they _seem_ to be, they also _seemed_ to be fine the night they were attacked Erwin. As soon as those shit head punks see that we've stopped watching those damn brats, you know they're going to try and retaliate."

"Levi, it is not our job, no, it's not _your_ job to protect one person and neglect the rest of the city. We protect the people, the civilians, and the greater good of the city. We aren't mercenaries or body guards Levi, we're law enforcement officers." Erwin's tone remained steady and firm.

Levi's anger was apparent in his eyes, he glared at his partner with silent rage as his chest rose and fell methodically with quick, heavy breaths.

"You need to listen to me on this one; you're already on a short leash with the superiors for how you handled things that night. You shot four people and killed three of them. Only one of the dead men had a weapon. Things aren't looking too good for you right now. Besides, you seem to lose your head whenever that girl is involved. I suggest this for both your sake and hers, take some time off and cool down Levi. You need it."

Levi looked up at his partner, rage boiling down as he thought of the pros of taking his accumulating vacation time. 'If I take vacation…then I can protect her without the force watching my every move…' this thought cleared the rest of the anger from his system. He sat down and calmly looked up at his partner, "Yea. I need a fucking vacation. And a drink."

The two laughed off the joke while Levi started to plan how _his_ surveillance would go.

* * *

"Eren, are you sure you're okay being alone?" Carla questioned her daughter the night before her departure for the site inspection. It had been a little over three months since the incident, and Carla was worried that Eren was still too vulnerable, even with the police assuring her that Eren and her friends were safe.

"Yes mom," Eren looked up from her math homework, "I'm almost an adult, I'll be okay."

Carla rolled her eyes and walked over to sit next to her daughter at the dining room table, "I realize that Eren, I was the one who had you," she playfully nudged her daughter's arm and smiled when the slight frown on Eren's face twitch up, "you'll be 18 in a few weeks, so yes, in the eyes of the law you're an adult, but that doesn't mean anything. You're still a child, my child, and I still worry about you so much."

Eren stood from her sitting position and walked over to her mother's sitting form, "I know…I worry about you too ya know?" Eren hugged her mother and kissed her forehead. "I'll be fine, I promise. I won't leave unless it's for school and I'll always be back before dark okay? It's just a three day thing right?" Eren half-sat in her mom's lap, still supporting most of her own weight so she wouldn't crush her mom's legs. She snuggled into her mother's neck and stayed there while Carla spoke again.

"That's right, it's just three days, so I'll be back before you know it." Carla squeezed her daughter closer and kissed her on her cheek. "Okay Eren, I trust you, but you better call me when you leave the house, get to school, leave school, and get home."

Eren rolled her eyes and slid out of her mom's arms, "okay okay, I got it, but can I text you instead? I'd prefer that."

Carla locked her with a stern look, "I have to hear your voice once a day to know for sure if you're okay, so at least call me during one of those times, okay?"

Eren smiled and nodded, walking over to the table and grabbing her finished math homework. "Deal. You should go to bed though; doesn't the car come really early?"

Carla laughed and stood, "yes it does, and we should _both_ go to bed," she gently brushed a few loose strands of hair behind Eren's ear, "goodnight sweetheart."

"Night mom," Eren smiled and then headed towards her bedroom to retire for the night.

* * *

Carla silently walked through the apartment and peeked into her sleeping teen's bedroom; she tiptoed over to Eren's bedside and pushed the messy brown strands off of her forehead. She placed a light kiss on the cleared space and whispered, "I love you Eren." She tiptoed back out and looked at her daughter for a few more moments before gently shutting the door and leaving the apartment.

The driver was waiting for her downstairs, he'd come inside to help her with her bags. He opened the back seat to allow her to get into the vehicle while he did so. It was the same driver and company that Carla's workplace normally used; they were decently priced, very efficient, and professional. Carla often looked forward to seeing this driver, as they would both talk about their children, both bragging about how amazing and loving they are.

The driver started towards the airport and their conversation began. After several minutes of casual and familiar chat, they reached the first intersection. The lights were flashing yellow for the driver, and flashing red for the perpendicular line of traffic. The driver paused, and then started to pass through the intersection; he introduced the topic of their children and started to ask about Eren's well being.

He was cut short as a junked car sped out of an, otherwise vacant lot, and straight into the driver's side of the vehicle that held both the driver and Carla.

When the paramedics and police units arrived, both Carla and the driver were pronounced dead on the scene. The body of the driver from the car that t-boned their vehicle was not recovered.

* * *

Eren awoke to the sound of loud pounding against the front door. She groggily sat up, using the base of her palms to wipe the sleep from her eyes as she threw the covers off and slid her house shoes on. Shivering from the loss of heat, she grabbed a blanket and draped herself in it before heading to the door.

In her still half-asleep state, she didn't even check in the peep hole to see who was pounding so mercilessly at her door. She opened it just enough for her head to fit through.

"Ms. Eren Yeager?" the young officer asked, hand still held high and fisted, ready to assault the door with more knocks.

It took Eren a few moments to process that uniformed the man standing outside her entrance was an officer, and that she should probably answer him. "Hmm? Yes that's me," she yawned and opened the door wider, allowing full view of her blanketed body.

"Miss, I regret to inform you that your mother, Carla Yeager, is no longer with us."

Eren stared at the man like he'd suddenly sprouted another head. "W-what?" Eren said weakly. The officer looked at her and bit his lip, then spoke again.

"She was in a car accident this morning and both she and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene."

Eren felt her knees give out, and she fell to the ground, trying to process the information and remember how to breathe. She looked back up to the officer who stood at the doorway, stupidly staring at her with panic in his eyes. He was young and inexperienced; he wasn't sure how to deal with the girl in front of him.

"M-my mom is…dead?"

Eren's body shook and tears began to well in her eyes. "Noo…no…no…mom…no" she crouched further down and wrapped her arms around herself.

She cried hard, tears staining her cheeks while she wailed and trembled in the entryway of her apartment.

The officer was reaching out his hand to try and console her but was stopped by firm grip on his wrist. He turned to face the owner of the hand and was startled to see officer Levi, dressed in casual clothing. Levi shook his head and motioned for the officer to leave the area. "I'll take care of her."

"B-but sir you can't-" The officer stopped when he saw the manic glare Levi fixed him with.

"I said, I'll take care of her. Now go." The younger of the two hastily nodded and darted towards the elevator.

Levi turned his attention to Eren's trembling form. He slipped into the apartment and shut the door, making sure it was locked before he kneeled next to her and lightly touched her back.

The sudden touch made Eren tense. She pulled her tear stained, and ruddy face out of her lap and looked up to see Levi. "Y-you?" She forced out between sobs.

"Shh, it's okay Eren, you're okay." He slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest.

She tensed again for a moment, then relaxed into his hold, her cries muffled into his shoulder as he pressed her closer. "You're okay, you're safe now, I'm here Eren…you're okay…it's okay." He whispered over and over, stroking her messy and tangled bed-head hair down with long soothing motions.

They stayed in that position, Eren wrapped in her blanket and Levi's arms while she cried until she couldn't cry any more. When her cries finally stopped, Levi gently pulled her away from his shoulder and held her face in his hands. Her cheeks were stained and ruddy, eyes red and swollen and her lips dry, and parted in a silent sob.

"Eren," she met his eyes with her own, too upset and drained to say anything, "you need to rest."

After a few more rough rises and falls of her chest, she slowly nodded then closed her eyes, silently granting him permission to take care of her.

Levi stood, gently coaxing Eren to do the same and allowing her to lean most of her weight on him. He walked with her to her room and helped her get into bed. When she was comfortably tucked in, he turned to leave the room and search for water.

Before he could leave her bedside, a weak grip on his shirt sleeve stopped him. He turned and looked down at to see Eren's fingers pinching his sleeve. "Please don't leave yet…I don't want to be alone." She weakly breathed out, a few more tears escaping her swollen and dulled eyes.

Levi's eyes widened a fraction and he quickly kneeled down at her bedside, he took her hand in his and gently stroked the hair out of her face. "I'm not leaving you. You need water, or you'll become dehydrated from crying so much. I was just going to bring you some." He wiped a few of the tears that had freshly fallen.

Eren searched his face for any hint of lying and then nodded, releasing her grip on his hand and speaking, barely above a whisper, "there are a few bottles in the fridge."

Levi nodded and then stood, found the bottles and brought two back to the bedroom with him. He set the bottles on her nightstand and pulled her desk chair next to her bedside.

He helped her sit up and gave her a newly opened bottle to nurse on while he took a quick swig of his own. Eren laid back down and rolled over onto her side to face Levi. She lay there, watching him until she slowly fell into a deep, fatigue induced sleep. All the while Levi repeated aloud and to himself, "I'm not going to leave you… I'm here, it's okay… you're okay…I'm here…I'll protect you…you'll be safe with me."

* * *

**A/N**

**GAH writing that last part killed me, I love Carla so much, ;A;**


	5. By Simple Coincidence? - Bonus

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**So here is that not-so-mini bonus chapter. I felt that some clarification was necessary after editing the last chapter, so this should *hopefully* fill in all the holes that have surfaced thus far.**

**Warning, it gets a bit graphic and there's also a fair amount of recap. It wouldn't really make sense otherwise, so apologies if you find it a bit boring. New content and Chapter Four will be out tomorrow as planned.**

**Also, if you spot any mistakes with spelling/grammar, feel free to point them out. I edit every chapter myself so there are likely to be many mistakes.**

**Guest Reviewer: I know I cried a lot writing these last two chapters...and the next chapter. Sighs. Thanks for your support!**

**Chapter 3.5 – By Simple Coincidence?**

Levi sat at his desk, shuffling through paperwork in the open office space he shared with Erwin and several other officers from their department. He sighed and neatly put the papers he'd gathered together in one file, then place the folder back into the holder. He removed two other files and began to page through them, searching for any information that may useful in helping him locate the syndicate member he'd beat to a pulp in the alleyway two months prior. So far, he'd had little luck. He often returned to that corner store to see if the man would return to working there, he'd even asked the owner about him, but the owner claimed to know very little about his ex-employee and the man had never returned to the little shop since.

After reading through another file full of useless, and likely falsified information, Levi replaced all his research material and stretched in his chair, letting out a relieved sigh as the stiff vertebrae in his back popped and some of the tension was released.

He checked the clock on his desk and saw that it was nearing his time begin patrols. He double checked to ensure that his desk space was in order, then grabbed the keys to the squad car and walked over to meet Erwin. The two made their way out and to their designated vehicle, Levi threw Erwin the keys and their patrol began.

* * *

It was nearing 10 PM by the time the duo made their final round. Levi insisted that they stop by the convenience shop, and Erwin reluctantly agreed.

Erwin parked the squad car a car length away from the small store and he and Levi exited the vehicle. As they were walking towards the familiar neon lights of the shop, they heard a high pitched noise. Both men froze and shared a quick look before Levi joined Erwin's side.

"What the hell was that?" Levi asked his partner.

Erwin scrunched his thick blonde brows and replied, "I don't know, let's check it out."

Levi nodded and pulled out his gun, he removed the safety and then motioned for Erwin to follow him across the street and into the alleyway. As they neared where they believed the noise had come from, they paused, stopping to listen for anything that could help to clarify the situation.

Levi stood flush against the brick wall of the small passageway that connected two larger alley gaps. He held his gun up and then crouched as he tried to listen further. He managed to catch the end of a statement, "…we'll have a little party of our own…how's that sound, huh?" He slowly turned his head to peer around the corner.

His eyes widened and he clutched his gun firmly at the scene he saw. The punk ass he'd been searching for had his filthy hands gripped tightly around a young girl…no…around Eren. Then the pig laughed as he roughly dry humped Eren and all Levi could see was red. In his blind rage he missed that last thing that passed the thug's lips, "maybe I'll even let the boys over there join in."

Erwin looked at the same scene but managed to keep his temper down; he wanted his head to be cool when he made his move. He tried to whisper the quick plan that he'd formulated to Levi, but before he could, the man was already darting towards the man nearest them that was holding and roughly handling a girl. Erwin took this moment to send a message to his office and alert them to bring in reinforcements and an ambulance.

Levi ruthlessly struck the back of the thugs head with his gun, then tightly gripped his neck and furiously kneed the man's back. He ripped the thug's body away from Eren as she fell from his grasp and smashed his face in with his gun. He threw the man face down on the ground and stomped on the base of his spine, hitting the same spot he'd previously kneed to weaken him.

After a few more rage filled stomps, Levi looked over to see that Eren had been backed against the wall by a man who held a knife. Levi cocked his gun and took aim, just as the man lurched forward to a defenseless Eren. He fired one shot and hit the man cleanly in the side of the head, feeling a ferocious satisfaction overrun him as the man fell to the ground and stained the already filthy alleyway with his rotten blood.

He then aimed his weapon at the two who still had a strong grip on the girl that Eren had risked herself to rescue. He fired once, then twice, hitting the first between the eyes and the second in the chest when he dropped the girl and tried to run away.

He fired one more bullet into the neck of the man who'd been bloodying the blonde on the wall. The man's hands left the blonde and clutched his neck to vainly try and stop the bleeding, after a few seconds of futility, the man fell backwards and joined the bodies that now decorated the alleyway.

The rage boiling in the pit of Levi's stomach was momentarily calmed when Erwin roughly gripped Levi's shoulder, pulling him out of his killer mode. Levi lowered his gun and quickly replaced it in his holster as he turned to his partner "Erwin, you take care of this one," he pointed to the body of the girl Eren attempted to rescue, "I'm going to go check on the others."

He turned on his heel and ran past the girl laying in the blood of her attackers, running straight towards Eren and the boy she held protectively in her shaking arms. Levi looked up for a moment to see that the paramedics and another squad had arrived, then he kneeled next to Eren and held up his empty hands to show that he had no weapons.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." He allowed Eren to search him over for a moment, so she could see that it was him, he wasn't going to hurt her, he cared for her, and wanted to help her. He watched her eyes widen slightly in recognition and he allowed himself to move a little closer to her.

"Y-you..."she weakly said, "you're that officer."

"Yes, I'm the one who helped out that day." Levi scrunched his brows, frustrated at himself as he continued, "I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner Eren. I'm so, so sorry." He looked down to the ground to avoid her wide, terror filled green eyes, feeling too ashamed to even look into them. 'It's my fault she's here, it's my fault she's holding her barely breathing friend…it's all my fault…I can't let this happen again…Eren I'm so sorry…I won't let it happen again, not this.' He mentally berated himself as he avoided her eyes.

Levi's negative stream of self-blaming thoughts were interrupted by Eren's shaky and hoarse voice.

"My friends…please help them."

Levi looked up at her to see fresh tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, overfilling and spilling down her ruddy cheeks. He then turned as he saw a pair of paramedics walking their direction with an unoccupied gurney in tow.

"They are going to be okay Eren, just let the professionals take care of them." He tried to say it as gently as possible, despite the rage and disappointment he still felt, "can you stand?"

He watched as more tears spilled from her eyes as her friend was lifted out of her arms and taken away towards the ambulance. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and wipe her tears away and gently hold her close to him as he rocked her trembling form in his arms.

She tried to push herself up, but her legs were too weak to comply, after a moment or so more of her attempts, she looked up and shook her head, silent apologies written all over her face.

Softly he spoke, "It's okay," then scooted a bit closer to her, "I'm going to pick you up okay?"

He waited for her to give him permission to touch her. She nodded once and he placed a strong, sturdy arm around her torso and his other arm under her weak knees. In one swift motion, he lifted her angelic form away the filth that littered the alleyway. He quickly adjusted and let her head rest against his shoulder.

He asked her one last question, "Do you want to go home or to the hospital?"

After waiting a few seconds and getting no response, he softly called out, "Eren?"

She spoke, "home," barely above a whisper, and he started towards his destination. After a few minutes, he was outside the familiar doorway and gently kicking at it in order to get her mother's attention.

As the moments passed while he waited for the door to open, Levi looked down into his arm and studied Eren, 'she's so cold, and fragile, I can't leave her alone.' He instinctively held her closer and tightened his hold, feeling his blinding rage return, 'this is all my fault, all this shit…if anything had happened to her… I should have just killed that stupid little fuck when I had the chance. No more chances, no more mercy.'

'I'm here now, I can return the favor to you. You precious innocent creature…my angel of hope,' he continued to stare down at her tear stained face, desiring nothing more than to wipe the tears away and wrap her up, warmly, comfortably, safely…to protect her from the ugly and cruel world that was blessed by her existence. Her eyes fluttered open, and he was met with hazy green, swollen pink eyes. She looked at him briefly and then saw her door and let her lids fall again, hiding her painfully beautiful treasures from the world.

He felt sick. He hated that she was so exhausted from the trauma she experienced, but also loved that she was finally in his arms. 'I won't leave her side again…this…no, soon she'll be an adult, she'll have to go off on her own, and I'll make sure she's never alone, even if she doesn't know it, I'll be there, right there, waiting for her…protecting her…loving-'

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, a gently aged woman, with soft looking dark brown hair and kind brown eyes answered. She looked down and the kindness in her eyes morphed into shock, as her wide eyes took in the sleeping, slightly trembling form of her daughter. She opened the door wider and allowed Levi inside.

"Ma'am, may I take her to her room?"

"Y-yes, of course, it's straight down that way" she pointed across the living area, but Levi was already walking across and nearing the bedroom door. He turned the knob and pushed the door open with his shoulder, once inside, he removed the arm from under Eren's knees and let all her weight fall on him as he carefully balanced her against his chest. Using his free arm, he threw back the covers on her bed, then gently laid her down. He replaced the covers and gently brushed the hair out of her face.

His hand lingered on her head, as his fingers slowly trailed down her face. He wiped the few remaining tears that clung to her thick, dark lashes and stared down at her fatigued form for a moment longer. He leaned down near her face, and softly whispered into her ear as he returned to stroking her hair, "I promise I'll protect you Eren. So please, just stay where I can reach you." He stood and then walked back towards the door.

He exited her room and gently shut the door, then returned the front entrance to see her mother still standing there, with a relieved, but questioning look.

"What happened to her? I heard gun shots, where are her friends, oh my God are they okay?" Carla began her stream of nervous questions.

Levi took a deep breath and answered her, "They were attacked by some thugs on their way back in the building. I recommend you not let her out of your sight for the next several weeks; I'll talk to my department about getting a unit setup to constantly survey the area, and possibly escort the kids to and from classes." He paused and let the information sink in, then continued on to answer the rest of her questions, "I was the one who fired the gun, her friends, a blonde boy and a black haired girl were beaten up pretty badly but they have already been taken to the hospital. Eren seems to be the only one physically unharmed, but I suggest you take her to hospital first thing in the morning just to make sure. I'd also like it if you brought her by later so she could give us her statement and discuss the details of the surveillance."

Eren's mother nodded and thanked Officer Levi for the information and agreed to comply with his instructions. She even offered to make him tea but he politely declined, saying that he had to go help with the cleanup. After a quick exchange of information, Levi was back downstairs and with Erwin, as the other officers came to question them on what happened, and why there were three dead bodies and two men in critical condition.

'Only three dead,' he thought as Erwin filled in the other officers on the situation, 'I thought I killed all of them…'

Levi cut into the conversation and informed the men that Eren Yeager's mother, Carla, would be bringing Eren to the station sometime tomorrow, so Eren could give her statement and they could talk about heightened security in the area. Levi and Erwin excused themselves, and they returned to the station in a silent ride. Without any words, the two got into their own vehicles and drove their separate ways home, Erwin thankful that Levi hadn't killed all the suspects, while Levi was angered with himself for not sending all of Eren's attackers to an early, well deserved grave.

* * *

Levi was finally feeling grateful that he hadn't killed all the thugs. Once the thug that he shot was out of harm's way, he was given the chance to interrogate him. He managed to milk out more useless than helpful information from the man, but the few useful tidbits he received helped him plan his movements for the next three months. The man he'd shot was soon released from the hospital and escorted all the way to prison to rot.

The ass who'd manhandled Eren didn't fare so well, from Levi's fury fueled kicks and blows to his head, he was left with a severed spinal cord and heavy brain damage. The man was left in the ICU and Levi was not allowed to see him, though it was unlikely he'd ever regain enough clarity to answer any of Levi's questions anyway. He was paralyzed from the waist down and had trouble articulating and speaking. Levi was at least satisfied that the man would never live to see another normal day in his life, he would live in a perpetual hell of constant need and reliance, but never able to tell anyone exactly what it was he needed.

Using what little information he'd extracted from the imprisoned criminal and a few department resources, he was able to find the location of the legion's favorite new hideout. When he was off the clock and sure that Eren was at home and safe, he'd use the munitions provided by the department and break into the hideout, picking off a few members at a time for his own private interrogation and therapy session. When he wouldn't get any useful information from the unlucky members, he'd settle for beating them until they complied…or just died.

By the end of the second month, the legion had lost twelve members. One for every word Levi heard the man hiss to Eren.

It was nearing the end of his shift when Levi walked over to the main office to talk to his superior. He raised his hand to knock on the door and alert the man of his presence, but he paused, mid-air as he heard the hushed voices of the men behind the door. From what he could make out, one was definitely the police chief, but the other…it was…Erwin? Levi pulled his hand away from the door and leaned closer to try and listen in on the information.

"…_there's been an increase in break-ins and vandalism right around the area that we've been surveying. It's like they are mocking us…or retaliating. For what I don't know."_

"_So what do you suggest we do sir?"_

"_Our job is to protect the people, I know that this girl and her friends went through a hell of a trauma, but we cannot afford to waste anymore man power on guarding her and her friends, we're short staffed as is it Smith, you know that. At the end of the month I'm calling off the surveillance and I want you let Levi know that."_

Levi felt rage boil in his system at this information; he lowered his arm completely to stop his fist from shaking.

"_But sir, he's not going to take this very well…he seems to have some history with the girl."_

"_I don't care if he's fucking her or her mother, I want him off the case. He's too wrapped up in this legion business and we can't afford anger the leaders more than we have already. I've gotten reports that in the past two months alone, twelve members have gone missing and are likely dead. We can't have this kind of shit tied to our department."_

"_Sir I understand, but don't you think that it's a good thing to try and thin their numbers out?"_

"_Smith. I've been with this department for a long time, longer than you've been alive, and I am telling you, we do not fuck with the legion. Direct his attention elsewhere, give him time off, I don't care. Just get Levi off the fucking case, he's taking things too personal and that is more dangerous to us than the legion."_

Levi straightened out and tried to calm himself enough to knock on the door. He managed not to punch it, but the knock was anything put light.

The men in the room quickly straightened out and the police chief let out a gruff, "Come in."

Levi entered and regarded the nervousness in both men's eyes, "I just wanted to let you know I'm heading home for the night sir." His superior nodded and Levi directed his attention to Erwin, "I expect you'll fill me in later. Have a good night, _gentlemen_." He spat and turned on his heel, slamming the door with more force than necessary and leaving the two men to look at each other with alarmed expressions.

* * *

Levi went about work as usual the next day, trying not to betray that he knew what Erwin the police chief had discussed the night before. The next two days were his off days, and he planned to spend every moment of them watching over Eren.

The morning of his first day off, he sat outside her complex in his car, eating a light breakfast he'd made for himself to go. It was still bright and early in the morning when he saw Eren exit the building. After a few minutes passed, he started his car and drove down the street slowly, taking more time than he needed at each stop sign as he watched her get closer to the bus stop. He stopped following her and parked his car at a dry cleaners a little ways down from the stop, far enough to not raise suspicion, but close enough for him to rush to Eren's aid should the need arise. After another ten minutes passed, Eren's bus came she got on to join the hoard of other high school brats.

He decided to head home and finish a few neglected chores while Eren was in school. He started his car and reversed out of the space, then headed the opposite direction to reach his quaint home. He didn't notice the squad car parked in the alleyway, nor the two officers who recognized him and messaged the police chief. They received orders to suspend their watch and head over to a scene of another break in, nine blocks from where they currently were.

* * *

When Levi returned to work, he was called into the police chief's office. He entered the private space and found Erwin sitting in the chief's chair, the chief nowhere in sight.

Erwin beckoned Levi to close the door and sit down. He told him about the decision to halt their surveillance. Levi had remained relatively calm through the beginning of the conversation, up until Erwin dropped the bomb that he'd been waiting for.

Erwin watched as Levi stiffened in his chair, his grip on his knees tightened and his knuckles protruded from his clenched fists. He said nothing, waiting for Levi to respond.

When it was evident that Levi would not reply to him, Erwin spoke again, "I think this is a good chance for you to cool your head. Give this case a rest for now."

He spat, "give it a rest Erwin, really? And what makes you think I need to cool my head off?"

"Levi, you need to calm down." He stated coolly.

"How can I be calm...What the hell do you mean that we aren't doing surveillance anymore?"

"I mean exactly what I said, they've decided to cancel the watch, we can't very well shadow that girl and her friends for the rest of their lives, it makes no sense. They seem to be out of danger anyway."

"Yea, they _seem_ to be, they also _seemed_ to be fine the night they were attacked Erwin. As soon as those shit head punks see that we've stopped watching those damn brats, you know they're going to try and retaliate."

"Levi, it is not our job, no, it's not _your_ job to protect one person and neglect the rest of the city. We protect the people, the civilians, and the greater good of the city. We aren't mercenaries or body guards Levi, we're law enforcement officers." Erwin's tone remained steady and firm.

Levi's anger was apparent in his eyes, he glared at his partner with silent rage as his chest rose and fell methodically with quick, heavy breaths.

"You need to listen to me on this one; you're already on a short leash with the superiors for how you handled things that night. You shot four people and killed three of them. Only one of the dead men had a weapon. Things aren't looking too good for you right now. Besides, you seem to lose your head whenever that girl is involved. I suggest this for both your sake and hers, take some time off and cool down Levi. You need it."

Levi looked up at his partner, rage boiling down as he thought of positives of taking his accumulating vacation time. He thought back to his previous two days off, about how closely he'd been able to watch Eren. He had a quick internal debate over whether or not to take the offer…

"Yea. I need a fucking vacation... And a drink."

* * *

The morning Carla left for her trip, Levi sat parked in his usual surveillance spot, the sky was still dark and it was chilly. He sipped on the black coffee he'd made himself before he left to begin his third vacation day.

He watched as the black sedan pulled up and stalled in front of the complex's entrance. The driver exited and he looked to the front entrance to see Eren's mother exiting the building with a few bags of luggage. 'She must be traveling again.'

The driver opened the door for Carla and then packed her cases in the trunk. They drove away and Levi watched them as they left his line of sight. He turned his attention back to his coffee and reached into the back of his car to shuffle through the small bag of clothes he'd brought to change into later in the day. He pulled out a short blanket and draped it over himself as he sat and watched the building. He pulled out his phone and looked at the time displayed in bright white letters across the screen, 'Eren won't be awake for another two hours,' thinking this, he decided take a short nap. He set the alarm to wake him up let his eyes close.

Not a moment later, he heard the angry screech of metal on metal, the sound of rubber burning on concrete, glass shattering and then silence. Levi's eyes shot open and he all but threw the cover off his body. He exited his car and looked around for the source of the noise. He noticed smoke and steam coming from further down the street and he hopped back in his car.

After a few minutes, he stalled his car and stared, in wide-eyed horror at the scene before him.

The driver's side of the sedan was completely smashed in. Levi exited his car and rushed forward to the scene. He felt his stomach fall when he realized that not only was the driver complete crushed by the impact, but that Carla was as well. She sat directly behind the driver. Her face was smashed into the seat in front of her and the broken glass from back window was shattered all across her back and neck. The driver was completely crushed, Levi couldn't tell where his body started and the car ended since his limbs were compacted between the bent metal and shattered glass.

Just as Levi reached into his pocket to grab his phone, a pained grunt caught his attention. He quickly put his phone back into his pocket and closely looked into the car that had crashed and killed Eren's mother.

He saw a little movement, and then heard another pained grunt that followed a thud. He ran over to the other side of the vehicle and saw a man pulling his body away from the opened car door. He'd hit the car and thrown his door open so it wouldn't trap him inside so he would be able to escape the scene, but he hadn't expected to injure himself so fully that he'd be unable to walk.

As the man pulled away from the car, Levi rushed over to help him up.

"Sir," Levi started as he bent down to the man's side, the man's shirt was ripped from the impact and his head was facing down towards the concrete before he looked up to see Levi. That's when he'd noticed it, the symbol of legion on the back of the man's hand, this wasn't just a drunkard who'd been fooling around and missed the light, this was an attack, an attempted and successful murder.

Levi pulled the man up by the collar of his ripped shirt and forced him to stand on his injured and bloodied ankle. He shook the man, "Who the ordered you to do this?" When the man only grunted in protest to the shaking, Levi shook him harder and threw him to the ground, "I SAID WHO ORDERED THIS YOU STUPID FUCK!?"

He straddled the man's injured form and slammed his head into the concrete. "Answer the goddamn question or I swear I'll make you wish you'd died back there."The man answered him by spitting on Levi's face.

Levi slammed the man's head back into the pavement and pulled out his gun, he wiped the sickening saliva off of his cheek and pointed the barrel to the man's knee cap. He fired once, and steadied the writhing body beneath him as he tightly gripped the sides of the man's mouth to prevent him from screaming.

"Let me ask you again. Who. Sent. You." The man just thrashed and tried his best to free himself. Levi struck the side of his head with the handle of his firearm and scooted up a bit further to sit on the man's chest, he then pointed his weapon between the man's legs next. He let the barrel rest on the man's crotch as he shook him again.

"W-wait don't" the man mumbled out, Levi slackened his grip on his jaw put pushed more firmly with his gun, "t-the King, he's the one who ordered this."

"Who the fuck is the King? What does that mean to me, I need a name you piece of shit." He turned and lifted the gun from the man's crotch, then brought it down in a quick strike to the private area, earning a whimpering cry from his captive. "Next time it's a bullet."

As the morning sky lightened, the man convulsed and cried like a small child. Through his sobbing, Levi was able to make out that the man didn't know who this 'King' was, and he also had never met the man. At this point he felt like he was wasting his time so stood and pulled the man with him. He threw him into a nearby alleyway, next to a dumpster and fired a few more rounds into his head before he picked him up and threw his dead body into the dumpster.

Levi walked back to his car and ripped off his bloodied shirt; he wiped down his hands as best he could and laid the blanket out on his seat so he wouldn't dirty the seat. He grabbed his phone, dialed 9-1-1, and anonymously reported the accident. He drove away from the scene and parked behind Eren's building.

He sat in the vehicle and angrily thrashed at the car wheel, feeling sick and disgusted with himself for failing Eren again. After he vented some of his frustration, he picked up his bag and wandered into her building in search of a bathroom. He found one on the ground floor, near the exit to the alleyway.

He cleaned himself up and changed, then discarded his ruined garments into the dumpster outside in the alleyway where his world was changed forever. He crouched down next to the spot that he'd fallen four, almost five years before. The spot where he'd first met his saving grace, the little angel with bright, lively green eyes.

The sound of sirens drew him from his thoughts and he walked out of the alleyway to see a squad car stalled in front of the building, a young, nervous looking man hopped out the car and walked into the building. Levi narrowed his eyes and entered in through the side door in the building, he followed the young officer all the way to Eren's floor.

* * *

_Eren laid back down and rolled over onto her side to face Levi. She lay there, watching him until she slowly fell into a deep, fatigue induced sleep. All the while Levi repeated aloud and to himself, "I'm not going to leave you… I'm here, it's okay… you're okay…I'm here…I'll protect you…you'll be safe with me."_


	6. By Simple Coincidence? - Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**And the new content is in~! ****Sue me I needed some fluff okay**

**Chapter Four– By Simple Coincidence? – Part 3**

Eren awoke in the early hours of the day, the morning after her mother's accident. Her swollen eyes, blinked once, twice, and finally a third time before they opened fully. She groaned as she rolled over in her sheets, feeling an ache in her muscles and heaviness in her chest.

Her eyes widened when her hand came into contact with silky, dark hair. She sucked in a quick breath and pulled herself up to a sitting position. In her surprised haste, she kneed the owner of silky dark locks in the head, causing them…no…him to stir.

"S-shit," he grunted.

She watched in shock, as the man groaned and clutched his head, lifting himself from his sleeping position on the side of her bed. Eren remained silent while her sleep bogged brain processed the information. Then she remembered everything.

The young officer. Officer Levi. The accident. Her mother's death. It all hit her like a rough and violent wave from a hurricane. Her body shook as renewed sadness and tears spilled out and her quiet sobs filled the room.

Levi rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched to get the kink, which had formed in his back from sleeping slumped over and in a chair, out. He snapped to attention when he heard the soft, choked sobs that escaped Eren's lips.

"Eren!" He immediately moved closer to her, reaching his hands out to lightly grasp her shaking shoulders. She lowered her hands from her swollen eyes and looked at him through dark, tear matted lashes.

Levi felt a deep sadness and anger in the pit of his stomach; he pulled her forward and hugged her tightly to his chest. He felt her tense up, but he kept his hold firm and steady.

Eren's tension slowly faded, and she relaxed into the hug. She reached forward and tightly gripped his shirt and cried softly into the crook of his neck. She felt the bed move and heard it creak, as his weight was added to it. He briefly loosed his grip and pushed back the covers, then pulled her with him as he leaned against the headboard. She settled between his legs, curled up and crying in his arms.

Levi gently ran his fingers through her hair and drew slow, soothing circles on her back. "Just let it out Eren, I'll stay here as long as you need me."

He let a short, choked breath escape as he exhaled, staring up at the ceiling and slowly rocking her back and forth. He felt her trembling more, and looked down to see goose bumps appearing on her arms, he paused his circle rubbing and leaned forward slightly to grab the covers, then pulled back and draped them over his legs and around Eren's shoulders.

"It's okay…just let it out…it's okay, it's going to be okay…" He felt Eren shift and loosened his grip to allow her to move freely.

His eyes widened when she did not move away, instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. Her head remained down and her soft cries were muffled by his shoulder. Levi wrapped his arms around her again, resting his hand on the back of her head and listening to the hicks and broken sobs that escaped her throat. He felt the convulsion of her soft chest against his and he hugged her tighter.

They lay there, Levi silently trying to comfort her and Eren letting the sorrow from her loss spill out of her tired body. Eventually, Levi felt the random convulsions of her chest, slow to a steady, even rise and fall as Eren started to calm down.

When he no longer felt her warm tears wetting his sleeve, and heard only muffled sniffling, he softly spoke, "Eren?" When she tightened her hold, he continued, "you need to eat soon…want me to pick something up or make something for you?"

She mumbled into his sleeve, but he wasn't able to make it out. "Hmm?"

She lifted her head and leaned back, letting her hands remain on his shoulders as she spoke, "I'm n-not hungry." She sniffled again and kept her gaze down.

"I know you're not, but you need to eat, even it's just a little bit," he lifted his hand gently cupped her face, then wiped the tear that began to fall from her eye with a gentle swipe of his thumb, "understand?"

Eren's features contorted into a childish grimace and she shook head, to push her unwillingness to eat forward, she leaned back towards Levi and wrapped herself around him again. Her head rested just below his, and her face was pressed against his chest as she mumbled again, "m' not hungry."

Levi allowed a short chuckle to escape his lips at Eren's childish display. "Not hungry? Or just don't want to get out of bed?" He chuckled again as Eren tensed slightly, "Well?"

She shook her head in protest; then began to pull away again. Levi lifted his arms away and allowed her to move about; she pushed away from him and turned to her night stand, looking for something. When she spotted the water bottle, she leaned forward to grab it, but then stopped when she realized it was empty.

Eren scrunched her brows in frustration and turned to look up at Levi's slightly amused expression. "I'm thirsty."

"I bet you are. And hungry." He let a small smile adorn his features when he saw her apologetic and embarrassed expression. He leaned forward slightly, and smiled a bit wider when Eren didn't move to get away from, choosing instead to gaze at him curiously.

He let one of his legs slide off the side of the bed and gently coaxed Eren to drape her legs over the side as well. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and re-hydrated," he paused as slid his other leg off the bed, he still had a loose grip on Eren as she sat between his legs, "can you walk?"

Eren steadied herself on his thighs and used them to push herself off of the bed; she wobbled for moment, her knees feeling weak, but then stabilized and started to walk towards her bedroom door.

Levi smiled and followed her out of the room, he watched her enter the bathroom across from her bedroom. When the door closed, he had to fight the urge to open in and walk in on her, just to make sure she was okay, 'no…that's an invasion of privacy, she's gone through enough…stop thinking about it,' he convinced himself to walk away and he started towards the kitchen.

After a several minutes passed, Levi managed to find and lay out the ingredients to make scrambled eggs and honey toast. He turned on the coffee maker and ran it without any coffee to make hot water for tea. When he was pouring the water into the appliance, he saw Eren leave her bathroom and go back into her room, several moments later she came out with an oversized night shirt.

She walked towards Levi and he met her halfway in the living area, "h-here, take this," she offered the shirt to him, "I kind of dirtied yours…and I don't have anything else that could fit you."

Levi raised his brow but accepted the shirt. "Thanks."

Eren nodded and then walked towards the kitchen as Levi went to the bathroom to change his tear soaked shirt. The night shirt was oversized on Eren, but fit him just right in the shoulders and chest, though it was a bit too long and loose at his waist, it was still better than walking around in a cold, and damp shirt. He returned to the kitchen to see Eren breaking eggs into a bowl.

Levi walked up behind her and placed his hand on the back of her head, ruffling her hair, "will you take care of the eggs for me?"

Eren shyly nodded and continued her job as Levi returned his attention to the making of the tea and the bread. After several minutes of shuffling back and forth in the cramped space, there were two plates made, both filled with somewhat burnt scrambled eggs, perfectly crisp and chewy honey toast, and a few slices of a cut up apple. Eren brought two coffee mugs and Levi served them both tea.

The two sat in silence as they ate their meal. Eren was much hungrier than she'd thought, clearing her plate and asking for seconds. Levi gave her one of his toast slices and after a little reassuring, she ate it happily. He washed the dishes while she cleared the table and put away what was left of the ingredients.

"Are you still tired?"

Eren nodded and Levi took her by the hand, he led her to the living room and laid down on the sofa, guiding her to do the same. She comfortably settled against him and he draped the throw cover over them. He let his head fall back against the cushions and shifted slightly to a more comfortable position. When he felt Eren's movement still, and felt the steady rise and fall of her chest, he allowed his eyes to close and he drifted off to sleep, holding Eren protectively, and comfortably in his arms.

* * *

The following days were a blur for Eren, a blur of legalities, formalities, and procedures. Her mother's body was reconstructed as best as possible, but the surgeons weren't able to make her face presentable enough for an open casket viewing.

Eren had packed up enough of her things for an entire week, upon the insistence of Mikasa and her family, Levi took her to Mikasa's home. Eren was welcomed to live with them until she was able to decide her own living situation.

Carla's will was read and Eren was to inherit all her savings, stocks, and bonds, when she turned eighteen. It was decided that Eren could remain in the care of the Ackerman's until graduation, later on that semester, but the decision was ultimately up to Eren after she'd turned eighteen and was recognized as an adult under the law. Since she still had three more weeks before her eighteenth birthday, Eren needed to return home and get more clothing, and pack away the rest of her belongings to put into storage.

The Ackerman's offered to drive her there, but Eren declined, feeling that she'd already imposed on them greatly. After a short bus ride and a 10 minute walk, Eren stood in front of her old home. She'd taken the day off of school to have some time to herself and to pack up the what remained in her apartment.

She took a deep breath and opened her door, closing it behind her but forgetting to lock it. She started with her bedroom, packing away most of her clothing for storage and setting aside a few pieces to take with her back to Mikasa's house. Satisfied with her bedroom, she moved to her bathroom, then the living room next.

Several hours later, Eren found herself in her mother's room, packing away the clothing that would never be worn by Carla again. As each piece was lowered into the box, Eren would recall the most memorable moments that her mother had in each one. She carefully folded a black lacey dress, and thought back to the night her mother wore it to her, Mikasa, and Armin's honors society induction ceremony and dinner. Next she picked and folded a cream blouse, one her mother often paired with jeans and skirts for her work's casual Friday's.

After going through a few more garments, Eren felt herself on the verge of breaking down again. She left her mother's room and wandered out into the living area, as she passed the front door, she noticed that she hadn't locked it, and then quickly rushed to rectify the issue. She grabbed a bottle of water and a snack bar from the pantry and sat at the dinner table, trying to calm herself down enough to be able to return and finish her task of cleaning up and packing. She decided to take a short nap, and set an alarm to wake her up in an hour as she lay down to rest on the sofa.

* * *

After her nap, Eren felt refreshed and was back in her mother's room. She decided to leave the clothing for another day and moved instead to pack up the pictures and random items that littered Carla's room.

While Eren was cleaning, three suspicious figures approached her building. They entered. Rode the elevator up, and then stood outside her door. One tried to open the door, then cursed when it was locked. Another pulled out a lock pick, and went to work. Within a few seconds, the door was unlocked and the figures had full access to the apartment, and to Eren.

To chase the sadness away, Eren focused on humming a tune she'd learned from her mother as a small child. She would pause to look at the pictures before she wrapped them and placed them into another box, remembering all the wonderful and happy times she'd shared with her mother.

She was so engrossed in her song and in her thoughts, that she didn't hear the door being forced open, nor the man silently approaching her mother's bedroom. Eren turned to exit the room and head towards the bathroom, when she turned on the light, she nearly screamed.

A hand was roughly slapped over her mouth before the scream could escape and the dark clothed man behind her pulled her back and off her feet. His tight grip restrained her movements and his rough, calloused fingers prevented her cries for help from escaping. She froze momentarily when she recalled the attack four months prior, the trauma and terror causing her to freeze up and panic as she was dragged towards her bedroom.

When she saw the two other men ripping open and dumping out the boxes she'd neatly packed and stacked in the living space, she began to thrash and kick wildly, in her last attempt to escape. The man's grip only tightened and Eren cried harder.

She opened her mouth as wide as she could, feeling an ache in her jaw, then bit down with as much force as she could muster on the man's hand. She tasted his blood on her tongue and clamped down harder.

The man screamed and dropped Eren, then pushed her down on the carpet when she released his hand. "You fucking bitch" he hissed, then kicked her, causing her to lose her balance on the floor and fall face first into the carpeting. With his uninjured hand, he grabbed Eren by the ankle and dragged her across the carpet towards her bedroom.

"LET GO OF ME," she tried to turn and kick at the man. One of the others ran over to her and stuffed a cloth into her mouth to gag her, then restrained her by wrapping her wrists behind her back with packing tape. Eren's vision blurred with her tears, she felt so helpless and so weak, so very angry and so very terrified. She closed her eyes and tried her best to steel herself for what was about to happen next.

* * *

Levi had been silently opposed to the Ackerman's taking temporary custody of Eren, but what could he say? To Eren, he was a complete stranger, yes, he'd saved her life, just as she'd saved his, but it made more sense for her to stay with a family friend, which was the closest thing she had to a family, now that Carla was gone.

He felt like he had no right to keep her, though he wanted nothing more that to take her home with him, especially after the day they'd spent together. He wanted everyday to be that blissful, they'd wake up next to each other, share small conversations and laughs, cook and eat together, clean up together, sleep together…just be together, always and forever. He felt like he could do anything with Eren by his side. But he knew he couldn't take her away from her friends, not now…and likely, not ever.

He settled for spending the rest of his vacation observing her carefully, but from a distance. He said he'd always be there and he was going to keep good on his word, even if she didn't notice.

He'd parked near the school bus stop, expecting to see both Mikasa and Eren waiting at it; he was confused when he saw only the black haired girl there. After the bus left, Levi stayed in the area, wondering what had become of Eren. After another twenty minutes of waiting, he saw her exit the house and then head towards a public bus stop. He followed a safe distance behind the bus, and then parked his car in his usual rousting spot outside her complex when he realized that was her destination.

Morning turned to noon, then noon to evening. As the hours dragged on, Levi had to busy himself with reading, or phone games to keep himself alert and awake. As the day drew closer and closer to its end, he decided just join Eren. He was sure she was either cleaning or packing, possibly both, he honestly didn't care so long as he was able to with her, and be of use to her. Before leaving his car, he decided to stop by a drive through and pick them up a quick bite to eat.

As he was leaving the drive through, just a few minutes away from the complex, three legion members crept into the building and made their way up to Eren's floor.

Levi parked his car and started towards the front entrance. He went up the elevator and hummed a slow tune to himself. When he reached her floor, he strode down the hallway, all the way to the end, and then froze when he arrived at Eren's opened door.

He dropped the bag of burgers and rushed forward. He immediately darted towards the kitchen and grabbed a knife; he shut the door to prevent any quick escape for the soon to be victims.

He lunged forward and hit the man who was shuffling through the ripped and ruined boxes with the base of the knife on the back of his head, then kicked him sending him stumbling forward and into the wall. He turned his attention to the man who was pulling Eren towards her bedroom. He gripped the knife tightly and ran towards him.

He was stopped by the figure that'd been crouched down and binding Eren's limbs. The man brandished his own knife and lunged at Levi, he managed to graze Levi's side but did not pull away fast enough to avoid Levi's knife in his back. When he'd pushed it in to the hilt, he twisted it then pulled it out, not even sparing the man a glance as he fell to the carpet. His blood spilled openly from the wound and was greedily absorbed by the carpeting.

The man holding Eren dropped her leg and frantically tried to pull out his gun, before he was able to get his grip on, Levi was behind him. He roughly gripped the man by his hair, pulling hard enough to rip it from his scalp, exposing his neck. The kitchen knife was swiftly dragged across his throat and he let the man fall to the floor to join his companion. The carpeting hungrily drank up his blood as it gushed from his sliced neck.

Eren's eyes were wide with horror as she watched the killing take place before her. Levi moved to the man he'd knocked unconscious and quickly slit his throat, then threw his body to join the other thugs on the red stained flooring.

Levi then turned, eyes still drawn into tiny slits, and approached Eren. He still had a firm grip on the knife, and the blood dripped from the soiled blade. Splatters adorned his face and clothing, the fabric of his shirt stuck to his skin at the shallow wound in his side, the blood that seeped from it was caught and absorbed by his dark shirt.

Eren shook her head in panic, trying her best to back away from him while still bound and gagged. She closed her eyes and continued to shake her head, trying to tell him to stay away from her, not to touch her.

He pulled her forward and cut the tape that restrained her arms, then pulled the gag out of her mouth. He froze for a moment when she stared up at him in horror, her body trembling from the terror she felt. He slowly backed away, and Eren immediately shot up. She tried to run for the door, but Levi stopped her, he dropped the knife and pulled her towards him, then quickly covered her mouth to stop the scream he knew was coming.

"Eren, shh, please it's okay. It's just me. It's Levi, calm down." She continued to thrash and fight him, "I'm not going to hurt you, so please calm down. Please Eren."

Levi's voice cracked as he felt the stinging pain of rejection. He slackened his grip and let his hands fall to his side.

She rushed forward, but tripped over one of the bodies of her attackers. "Eren…please…"

She pulled herself up and stumbled again as she reached the door, she turned to see Levi still standing in the same spot, defeat drawn into his features. She backed against the doorway and took several deep breaths to try and calm herself.

"Eren?" she looked at him and slowly nodded her head. Within moments, Levi was at her side, holding her closely. "I'm so sorry, I failed you again, please forgive me…"

"It's…okay." She spoke softly, shakily.

"Are you okay?" she nodded and he pulled himself off of her.

He extended his hand to her and she cautiously grabbed a hold of it, he slowly pulled her to her feet, and allowed her to steady herself between his body and the door.

"You should go wash up, I'll be here when you're finished, so don't worry. I won't leave…not again."

Eren regarded his pained expression and nodded, feeling too weak to speak. She carefully walked to the bathroom and as soon as she was in it, she shut and locked the door then found herself barfing into the toilet. After several dry heaves, she flushed and went to the sink to rinse the foul, acidic taste from her mouth. Her appearance shocked her.

Her hair was matted down with sweat and disheveled beyond belief, her shirt was ripped, and she had deep red lines on her cheeks. Her eyes were red and swollen and she had blood stains on her chin and chapped lips. She was extremely pale.

She turned away from the mirror and shuffled through a recently packed box to find a bottle of shower gel and a towel. She turned on the shower stream, then jumped under the ice cold water before it had the chance to heat to a desirable temperature. She quickly scrubbed her body down and then rinsed the physical filth away, then turned off the water and wrapped herself in the towel. The feeling that she was covered in blood and dirt did not leave her.

In the kitchen, Levi washed his hands and rinsed himself off, trying his best to get rid of the overpowering stench of blood. He quickly searched the area and found that it was relatively untouched. He put some water in the coffee maker to heat it up, then searched for a cup. He poured a packet of powered cocoa into the cup and added a few crushed up Unisom tablets. When the water was finished, he poured it into the cup and stirred to mix the ingredients together.

Not a moment later, Eren emerged from her bathroom, freshly washed. She went to her bedroom and a few minutes later, returned fully dressed. Levi offered her the cup of hot cocoa and mustered the best smile he could manage.

Eren hesitantly took the cup, then sat on the sofa. Levi sat across from her and encouraged her to drink and finish the contents of the cup. Not wanting to further upset him, Eren complied and drained the cocoa.

"Eren, how are you feeling?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly, then answered back, "a bit bet-ahh-ter" she yawned in the middle of her response, "just sleepy."

Levi smiled pulled the throw blanket to wrap around her.

"Then you should sleep."

Eren felt her lids becoming heavier, and she found it harder to stay alert. While she fought her fatigue, Levi dressed his wounded side and then started to clean up the area. He wanted to make sure that no one knew he'd been there.

After nearly a half hour had passed, he walked over to check on Eren, and was pleased to see her sleeping soundly. He went to her room and picked up the light bag she'd packed, and then picked up her sleeping form, still wrapped in the cover. He left the apartment and made it to his car without any trouble. He laid her out on the back seat and set her bag next to him in the front, then started his car and headed towards his home, the next city over.

* * *

Levi tucked Eren snuggly into the bed of his guest bedroom, he left her bag in the corner and made sure the windows were all securely shut and the blinds were down. He walked over to the side of the bed and ran his fingers down the side of her face, 'I can't believe it…you're actually here' he thought to himself. He lowered himself next to her sleeping form and whispered, "I'll protect you from the wolves little rabbit… my angel … so please only look at me."

He started towards the door to leave the room, then paused and turned to look one last time at her sleeping form before he shut the door. He stood outside the room with a key in his hands, he carefully slid the key into the lock and turned it, he jostled the handle to make sure the lock worked, then removed the key. "Goodnight, please sleep soundly."

He walked to his bedroom and made a quick anonymous call, showered, then readied himself for bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Levi felt relaxed; his eyes slipped shut as sleep overtook him.

That was the most restful sleep he'd had in weeks.


	7. Dear Rabbit - Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**Tried something a bit different in the opening, let me know what you think? **

**My apologies, this chapter is short, I wrote a lot more than is here, but I wasn't able to get to the stopping point I wanted, so I just cut this first part here. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter Five– Dear Rabbit – Part 1**

_"I'll protect you little rabbit…my angel..so please only look at me._"

'No…no…don't touch me…please, don't come any closer…stay away…'

Running. That's all she think to do, all that she could hope to do, to try and get away from the blood splattered figure holding the crimson drenched blade. Red. That's all she could see, the hot, scarlet fluid, spurting from the veins of the dead men that littered her once, warm and cozy home. Silence. That's all the she could hear, her screams never able to leave her terror stricken throat.

The man approached, his lips moved, but her ears refused to recognize any tones. Her wide, emerald eyes, stared, frozen in terror as he closed the distance between them. She felt his arms wrap around her cornered form, the heat of his body pressed closely to hers betraying her sense of self preservation. She tried to push away, her fingers slipping on his slickened, blood splattered skin. She was pulled further into his grasp, preventing her from fighting back, his slippery red fingers curling around her back, gripping her body and immobilizing her. 'No, please don't hurt me, please…'

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Eren shot up from the sheets, nearly throwing them off of the bed. Tears streamed down her face and her shoulders shook from the terrible nightmare she'd awoken from.

Feeling the chill of the room hit her sweat drenched skin; she reached forward and pulled the damp sheets back over her body. Eren's breath quickened as she began to take in her surroundings.

'Where am I…this isn't my bed…'

"M-Mikasa?" she called out vainly. 'No...the Ackerman's guest bedroom wasn't like this…what…'

"Where am I?" Eren buried her face into the palm of her hands and tried to curl in on herself. After letting a few more tears fall, she slowly crawled out of the bed.

Her bare feet hit the cold, hardwood flooring and she momentarily stiffened from the shock. After a few seconds, she forced herself to get used to the sensation, and softly padded through the darkened room. When she reached a wall, she blindly searched it, running her hands along the wall until she found the cool plastic panel that housed the light switch.

She flipped a switch, and the light came on, illuminating the unfamiliar space. Eren stared, wide eyed for a moment while her shock rattled mind tried to put the bits and pieces of her last few days together, and try to figure out how she'd ended up in this strange place.

She wandered over to the windows and pulled back the heavy curtains to reveal a view of the starry night sky. She attempted to pull at the windows, but they were shut and locked tightly.

She returned to the opposite side of the room and grasped the metal door knob. She gave a weak, experimental twist, and stiffened when she realized that it wasn't budging. She gave the knob several more, stronger twists and tugs, but to no avail.

'I-I'm locked in…? What is going on?'

She jostled the handle roughly, trying in vain to bust the lock and open the door.

Eren paused her assault on the door knob when she heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

She searched the room for a place to hide and settled for crawling under the bed. She quickly thumbed the switch and turned the lights off, immediately depriving herself of her sense of sight. In the moment of confusion, as she tried to dive under the bed, the sound of metal clinking against metal could be heard as the door was unlocked and opened.

She fell to the floor in shock as the lights were turned on, sending her dark adjusted eyes back into another dazed spiral as they tried to readjust to the added light source. Disoriented by the entire situation, Eren screamed and thrashed as two strong arms were wrapped around her fitful form.

"Eren," she struggled more, and the grip tightened.

"No! No, let me go! Get off of me!" she continued her thrashing as she tried to pry the arms off of her body.

"Eren it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you…please Eren, calm down" she felt the warm breath of her capturer against the back of her neck, as he lowered his head in defeat, "…please."

She stopped struggling completely and let the man hold onto her. His grip was firm, but it wasn't painful, and he hadn't threatened her or brandished a weapon. Eren took a deep, shaky breath and cautiously placed her hand on the wrist of her captor.

"O-okay" she breathed out, "I won't try and run, so please, let me go?" her grip on the wrist tightened slightly, then released as she felt his hold slacken.

His arms slowly dropped, loosely fitting around her waist, then were completely removed from her space. Keeping true to her word, Eren stayed crouched on the cold wooden floor and slowly turned around to see her captor.

She was met with a downcast, pained look on his…no Levi's, face. Eren felt her chest constrict, as both guilt and fear surged through her system.

"Levi?" he looked up to meet her eyes, then just as quickly looked away. 'He looks like he's having a hard time,' she thought. Her brows furrowed further, her face becoming a mask of confusion and anxiety.

"I'm sorry Eren," his words were barely spoken above a whisper; they sounded broken and terribly pained. He slipped back towards the door and shut it behind him, closing both himself and Eren off from the rest of the cold, dark house.

She stood, making sure to keep as much distance between them as possible. "Where am I? What is this…?"

Without meeting her questioning gaze, he answered, "this is my house," he looked and locked her eyes with his own "but you're welcome to stay here and call it yours too."

"I…I don't feel very welcome." She moved further back into the room, "why did you lock the door?"

"I-…to keep you safe Eren. I did it to protect you. If you wandered out of the house and got lost…or taken, then I don't know what I would do."

Eren felt her confusion boil into anger, "what do you mean, 'keep me safe?' You think that by kidnapping me yourself that you're protecting me? What's wrong with you?"

She glared at him, and slowly moved away from the wall, towards the door he was still guarding, "this…" Eren looked around the room, "this is crazy Levi. I trusted you, I thought you would help me…not lock me away?" the pain she felt from talking so sharply to him made her voice quiver and crack, "if you really cared about me, then you would let me go." She crossed back over to door, and reached for the handle, that Levi's hand had fallen from.

"I want to leave, take me back to Mikasa." She turned the knob and began pulling the door open.

He firmly gripped her hand, and pushed back to close the door again, "I can't do that Eren. It's not safe."

"And it's safe here? You won't even let me leave this room."

"Eren." His voice was low and rigid, yet the underlying ache was still detectable. "Go back to bed, we'll discuss this when we've both had more rest."

"Why? So you can lock me up again?" She roughly jostled the door knob and used her other hand to try and pry Levi's fingers off of the knob. "I want to leave. I-I want to go home," her eyes burned as fresh tears began to swell, "I don't want to be here, not with you…" she fell to the floor, tears spilling from her eyes, "p-please."

Her hands still weakly held the knob. Levi lowered himself, taking her shaking hands with him. He wrapped his arms loosely around her and held her head to his chest. "Eren…" the softness returned to his voice, the gentleness that he'd had previously, when he comforted her.

Eren noticed it and cried harder, leaning into the warmth and security that his arms gave her. The safety that she'd lost when her mother died. But this…this wasn't the same kind, it was not a mother's love that compelled Levi to care for her so strongly…she'd barely known him before her attacks, yet he'd always seemed so close… so familiar.

So why, why was this stranger so willing and able to help her? Why, even as she lashed out at him and took her frustrations out on him, did he simply stand there and take it…? And why did he look so wounded…so defeated? Eren felt both comforted by and terrified of him…yet she felt herself relaxing into his familiar hold, almost willing him to hold her closer…tighter.

"Eren, for now… just do as I say. We can discuss this later…"

"Why?" she whispered softly against his neck. "Why are you doing this…?" she tightened her grip on his shirt, fisting her hands and pressing herself closer to him.

"Because I… I care about you," he pushed her back enough to cup her face, "I love you Eren, and I want to protect you. Isn't that reason enough?"

Eren's eyes widened…she went rigid in his hold and stared at him like he'd suddenly grown wings. "W-what?"

He said nothing; instead, he began to sweep his thumbs along her paling cheeks.

"But I barely know you…you barely know me…how…?" she searched his tired, gray eyes, narrow and glossy, with the subtlest hint of tears, prickling at the edges. She reached forward and gentle touched his face, running her own thumb underneath his eye, wiping away the small tear before it fell.

She dropped her hand and leaned forward again, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm so confused. I'm too tired for this-"

"Let's go to bed. It's late, you need to rest Eren." He felt her nod against his neck, taking this as confirmation; he tightened his grip around her and stood, lifting them both off of the cold wooden floor. He walked over to messy bed and laid Eren down, then moved to cover her with the blankets. He grimaced when he felt how cold and damp they were, then dropped them and turned to leave the room to get fresh sheets for her.

As soon as she was laid on the bed, and Levi's warm hold left her, she recalled her nightmare. The men attacking her, and the bloodied figure coming after her, the slippery wet feeling of the blood on her skin, renewed by the still damp sheets she was laid into. Her mind still spun, unable to separate her harsh reality from her hellish nightmare.

Eren reached out and grabbed the edge of his shirt, preventing him from walking away from the bed. "W-wait, don't leave, I-"

He turned on his heel and sent her a shocked expression, then quickly let the stoic mask he usually wore cover his features. "It's alright. I'm going to get you fresh sheets, that's all. I'll be right back." He turned to leave again.

She shot out of bed and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his lower back, "n-no, I don't want be alone, don't lock me in here again…"

Levi frowned slightly, but allowed her to willingly cling to his hips. "Then do you want to come with me?" he felt her nod into his back and tugged her arms off of his waist. He firmly gripped one of her hands and helped her out of the bed, "then come on."

He guided her through the dark corridor and into the open expanse of his living room, keeping her close so she didn't run into anything. She stumbled a few times and fell into him, but he simply chuckled and pulled her forward again once she found her footing. They passed the linen closet and then walked into his bedroom, without flicking the light switch on, he guided her to his bed and pushed back the covers to let her sit on the edge.

"You can sleep here tonight."

Eren felt the soft, but firm, mattress below her as she was guided to it. She felt around the bed and lifted her legs to push them under the cool and silky sheets. She laid her head against the fluffy pillow and took a deep breath, inhaling the faint scent of forest timber. The smell reminded her of when she was a small child.

_ It was her first camping trip and her parents wanted to make it as authentic as possible. Grisha rented a log cabin in a forest, two states over, far away from all technology and modern life. They spent the weekend in the cabin, fishing and picking nuts and berries to snack on. Grisha had even managed to get both Carla and Eren out to try hunting. At only nine years old, Eren was a poor shot, but Carla was able to get a small pheasant and Grisha shot a rabbit. She threw a tantrum, upset at her father for killing the rabbit, but ate the stew prepared from its sacrifice anyway. _

_Both Carla and Grisha prepared a small casket to put the remains of the rabbit into; they let Eren choose where to bury it. She chose the largest tree she could find, an old Oak with twisted, above ground roots. After she buried it, she sat next to the tree, enjoying the sounds of nature until she dozed off. _

_She awoke to her parents' worried voices, calling out frantically, in search of their lost daughter. When she fully opened her eyes, she was met with a sight that she'd never forget for the rest of her life. _

_Standing, not two trees away, was a giant, white wolf. It's piercing silvery-blue eyes, staring straight through Eren, like it was looking into her soul, assessing its quality. Eren remained completely silent and frozen against the bark of the grand old tree, locked in the moment with perhaps the most terrifying, and beautiful creature she'd ever seen. The sounds of the woodland creatures and her breathing completely masked the concerned voices of her parents. All that existed in those moments were Eren and the white wolf; the only sounds were from her beating heart, her breath, and the birds chirping idly in the background. The smell of pine and oak, moss and fern, and grass and dirt surrounded them. _

Eren was brought back to reality when she heard the sliding of a chair across the wooden floor. She looked up from the bed to see Levi sitting in a cushioned armchair. He'd draped a blanket over his shoulders and leaned his head back against the dark material.

'Why is he..? Oh,' she realized she was in his room, sleeping in his bed, and she'd been the one selfish enough to demand that he not leave her alone. She felt guilty that she was sleeping comfortably while he had to sleep upright in the chair, but she was also happy that he had kept his distance.

Surrounded by silky, warm covers, the comforting scent of the woods and the image of the majestic white wolf in her mind, Eren closed her eyes, letting sleep take her exhausted body immediately.


	8. Dear Rabbit - Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**Opening section is a bit of a recap from the last chapter; it's mostly from Levi's perspective, since you seem to enjoy that. Originally, I was going to post it as a bonus Levi POV chapter, but it just made more sense to use at the beginning of this update. New content is denoted by the ********* line. Thanks for your patience everyone, you all have been so wonderful, I hope you enjoy. Leave a comment/review if you'd like, I do love chatting with you all.**

**Guest Reviewer Chapter 7: Thank you so much! I'm flattered to hear you're enjoying the story. And no need to constantly check for updates! I'm back to my normal schedule, so checking on Thursdays should suffice. **

**AnimeGeek507: Well, I would have said last Thursday, but that would be a lie now wouldn't it? I try and finish my chapters every Thursday, though sometimes by the time I'm done editing it's already Friday morning. I'll try to get better at posting Thursday mornings/afternoon. Thank you for the love; hope you enjoy the latest chapter. **

**x-sosei-x: Thank you! ^ /o /^ Your words make me blush. Hehe. **

**Without further a due, have this sort of long, sad and angst filled chapter. **

**Chapter Six– Dear Rabbit – Part 2**

Levi awoke to a high pitch scream that made his blood run cold. Wide eyed and on edge, he fumbled out of his bed and searched for the keys in the darkness of his bedroom. He hurried towards the locked room, hoping that she'd simply had a nightmare and that it wasn't something worse. Several scenes ran through his head as he rushed through his cold, dark home, none of them were pleasant.

'What if they found out she was here? No, no one followed me, no one saw us, I made sure of that. Did someone break in? No, I made sure everything was shut tightly, and I didn't hear any glass shattering…maybe, it was just a nightmare, she should still be asleep though…I must not have given her a strong enough dose…'

As he passed through the living room and approached the bedroom, he noticed light spilling out from the thin space between the door and the wooden floors. He also saw the shadow of a person standing on the other side of the door, preventing some of the light from filtering through.

As he got closer to the door, the little light that guided his way was exterminated, shrouding his cold abode in complete darkness. 'Eren.' He sped up and reached for the door knob, he deftly unlocked it and swung the door open. He allowed himself to take one more quick breath to still himself before flicking on the switch and taking in the scene that the darkness had concealed from him.

Eren lay, nearly face down on the floor, like she tried to dive but failed miserably. She clumsily pulled herself up into a crouching position and tried again to slide beneath the bed. Levi lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from doing so. She thrashed wildly in attempt to escape, but he didn't regret his decision, with how disoriented and fitful she was, it was likely that she would've hit her head in her haste to escape under the wood framed bed.

"Eren," he spoke in a calm, tired tone, hoping that she'd recognize his voice, despite the mask of exhaustion that deadened it.

Eren nearly screeched, "No! No, let me go! Get off of me!"

When her flailing only intensified, he tightened his grasp, just enough to restrict further movement, but not harsh enough to injure her.

"Eren it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you..;" he started, he wanted nothing more than to let her go, but he knew as soon as she did, she'd run away from him, she'd try to escape and she'd be exposed to the ugly and cruel reality of a world without a family and no place to truly call home, "…please Eren, calm down," Levi did not slacken his hold, but lowered his head, feeling defeated by the current situation, "…please," he continued on in his mind, 'I only want to protect you, please stop pushing me away.'

As if his thoughts were spoken aloud, Eren ceased her struggles, and allowed Levi to hold onto her without protest. She placed one of her hands on his wrist and spoke "O-okay…I won't try and run, so please…, let me go?" Her hand's weak grip tightened slightly, but loosened as his firm hold around her slackened.

Levi was reluctant to let her go completely, and let his arms linger a moment longer wrapped loosely around her waist. He slowly backed away and stood, then continued his retreat towards the doorway to block her from escape, should she go against her word. He felt ashamed by his actions, but continued to tell himself that it was for her own safety, it was better for Eren to hate him and be safe, than to like him and let her wander around unprotected. He'd tried surveillance, following her as closely as he could without being detected, and that had resulted in her mother's death. She was even worse off than before, and he just couldn't imagine what it would do to her if anything were to happen to the Ackerman's or her other blonde friend.

After a few moments passed, Eren slowly turned and looked up at him, "Levi…?" her expression was a blend of terror and confusion, and it tempted him into throwing the door open and letting her have her freedom. He refused to fall into that temptation, no matter how good it seemed at that moment.

"I'm sorry Eren…"

Levi forced the last urge to let her leave away as he leaned against the door, shutting it completely.

"Where am I? What…What is this?"

He answered too quickly, "this is my house," looking down to meet her searching, wide and confused eyes, he continued on, "but you're welcome to stay here and call it yours too." The unspoken words continued on his mind, 'I want nothing more than for you to feel at home here Eren…'

"I…I don't feel very welcome…why did you lock the door?"

Levi narrowed his eyes, "I-…to keep you safe Eren. I did it to protect you. If you wandered out of the house and got lost…or taken, then I don't know what I would do."

She snapped at him, "What do you mean, 'keep me safe?' You think that by kidnapping me yourself that you're protecting me? What's wrong with you?" Levi's eyes widened slightly as she locked him with a hateful glare, "this…this is crazy Levi. I trusted you, I thought you would help me…not lock me away?" the pain was evident in her voice as she continued on, "if you really cared about me, then you would let me go…" her voice cracked as she tried hold back her tears.

Eren had crossed over to the door Levi was guarding, and reached out for the bare handle. "I want to leave, take me back to Mikasa." She started to open the door, but Levi wouldn't allow it. He gripped her hand and leaned his weight back against the door to close it.

"I can't do that Eren. It's not safe." She spoke to him harshly, though the words were lost to him, he'd already made his decision and he was sticking through with it. "Eren…go back to bed, we'll discuss this when we've both had more rest."

Her harsh words continued to spill out, sharpened by anger and dulled by confusion and fear, "I don't want to be here, not with you…p-please." She fell to the floor in defeat, letting her hot tears flow freely.

Levi tried his best to swallow his pain as he crouched down and wiped her tears, then pulled her towards his chest in a gentle, comforting hold. "Eren, for now…just do as I say." His 'please,' went unspoken, "We can discuss this later…"

"Why…" she choked the words out, her warm breath tickling the cool skin of Levi's neck, "why are you doing this?"

_Because you saved me. _"Because I…I care about you." _You saved me and I'm forever indebted you. _"I love you Eren, and I want to protect you."_ Like you've saved me, my guardian angel, do you even know how much I love you? _"Isn't that reason enough?"

If he wasn't so exhausted, he would have kept his declaration of 'love' out his answer, but he was too tired and hurt to care much for his word choice at that moment. He felt so much affection and admiration for the girl no…for the young woman he held in his arms as she wiped away the hot moisture that glossed his eyes. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding when she relaxed back into his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

He felt her warm breath tickle his throat as she spoke, "I'm so confused. I'm too tired for this…"

Before she could finish, he cut her off, "let's go to bed, it's late… you need to rest Eren." She nodded against his neck and he stood, tightening his hold to keep her firm against his chest as he walked over to the empty bed to lay her down. When he was about to tuck her into the covers, he felt the dampness of the sheets and frowned. 'I need to change these.'

Wordlessly, he turned to retrieve fresh sheets, but was stopped when he felt a weak tug on his shirt, "w-wait, don't leave… I-"

"It's alright. I'm going to get you fresh sheets, that's all. I'll be right back." He tried his best to sound reassuring, but the lack of sleep and the physical exertion were grating on his nerves, making it increasingly difficult to control his tone of voice.

"I don't want to be alone…don't lock me in here again…"

'Eren.' He thought, eyes widening when she threw arms around his waist and buried her face into his lower back. He reached down and lightly grasped her arm, thankful that she wasn't as repulsed by him as he thought she'd be. At least not disgusted enough to shy away or outright refuse physical contact. "Then do you want to come with me?" he pulled her arms off and helped her get out of the cold sheets of the guest bed, "then come on." Levi deftly guided her through his home, shrouded in darkness, pausing every so often when he felt her stumble or to let her regain her bearings.

Once they reached his bed, he pulled back the sheets further, and guided her to his bed. "You can sleep here tonight." Without another word, he left her to settle into his sheets, and then headed towards his opened door to shut it. He felt around his room for his desk chair, then pulled the blanket from the foot of his bed and settled into the chair, blanket draped over him to keep the chilly night air off of his skin.

Thoughts of the conversation to come when they awoke were pushed aside in favor of the warmer, more recent memories he'd made with Eren. He fell asleep dreaming of a day when she would willingly crawl into his arms and whisper words of adoration and affection for him. _Please rest well, Eren, goodnight._

****************new content start****************

Levi woke to a stiff neck and soft, warm puffs of breath against his cheek. Still groggy from the late night, and early morning conflict with Eren, he groaned, shifting in his uncomfortable desk chair while he opened his eyes.

He stared for a moment, confused, he didn't know if he was still dreaming or simply seeing a vision to help ease the discomfort in his aching body. Eren stood before him, rather, was leaning towards him, her face mere inches from his. Deciding that he was still sleeping that it was a pleasant and welcomed dream, he reached out and pulled the dream Eren into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, disregarding the chill of the air in the room when it hit his skin as the blanket fell from his shoulders. "Eren…" he breathed out against the top of the vision's head. Her hair was soft, and very realistic for a dream. It was only when his dream Eren started to push away did he begin to think something was off, 'this is my dream, you can't push me away in my own dream…' still delirious, he tightened his grip. However, the head butt to his chin dragged him, over a fire pit kicking and screaming, from his delirium.

"Unfmph," was all Levi could manage as he clutched his aching jaw and now bleeding mouth. "W-what the hell?" he barked out.

Eren had only been awake for ten or fifteen minutes before Levi first stirred. She debated trying to sneak past the sleeping man after getting over the initial shock of waking up in his bed. She knew she needed to escape, but she also knew for a fact that Levi had never once tried to hurt her. He was weird, and kind of hard to talk to, that was for sure, but he seemed to care greatly for her, and he didn't come off as a bad guy, despite how odd and almost, insane his behavior seemed. They needed to talk, things had to be settled, and it was not something that could wait, so she convinced herself to stay put for the time being.

'He doesn't look so scary while he's sleeping,' she thought as she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. He looked peaceful, and ten years younger while asleep. 'How old is he anyway…?' she wondered.

He shivered, and she debated whether or not to leave the warmth of the bed to replace the blanket that had fallen from his shoulders. 'I at least owe him that small of a kindness,' she thought, remembering how he'd literally saved her life not even a full day ago. She reluctantly pushed the warm, silky sheets off of her body and softly padded over the cold floor to Levi. She leaned forward and searched for the edges of the blanket, then pulled them up and over his shoulders. She leaned closer to him to make sure that the blanket was securely tucked behind him, so it didn't fall again.

She tried her best not to touch him any more than necessary, but she couldn't help the open mouthed breathes that escaped her lips while she stretched over him to keep the contact at a minimum. Eren paused when he stirred, and started to lean away, although not quickly enough since he was able to easily trap her and pull her into his lap. 'oh my god was he faking?' she thought in a panic, freezing for a moment when he breathed into her scalp.

He sounded like he was still asleep and she couldn't see his face since hers was pressed into his clavicle. She tried to push against him, and then panicked when his hold tightened. Feeling a surge of adrenaline take over her system, she pushed away with all the force she could muster and head butt his jaw in her haste to escape the unexpected hug.

Eren fell backwards and onto the bed, her legs, wide open and planted downward in an awkward position, laid out right in front of Levi.

Levi stared wide eyed at Eren, sprawled out on the bed in front of him, still gripping his aching jaw. 'O-oh,' was all he was able to think while he tried to rid his mind of the sudden, and highly inappropriate scenarios that played out in his head.

Eren reoriented herself and shot upright, to try and correct her position. "S-sorry, you just surprised me and I-I didn't mean to hurt you…, you're bleeding I'm so sorry-"

She was visibly shaking and it took every ounce of self-control in Levi's body not to pull her into his arms again.

"No, it's alright Eren," he pushed himself up from the chair and popped his stiffened back, "if anything I should apologize. I was still half asleep, so it's my fault, sorry for making you uncomfortable." He clutched his jaw once again, after he finished his last word.

Eren nervously bit her finger while Levi stood and headed towards the closed bedroom door. 'Oh shit, way to go moron. I hurt him and now he's probably really pissed, I'll never get out of here now…' she sighed and cradled her head in her hands, distress visible in all her actions.

Levi left the room and shut the door behind him. He headed towards his bathroom to grab a wet wash cloth and rinse the blood out of his mouth. Since he was there, he went ahead and brushed his teeth and gave his face a quick rinse to help wash away whatever remained of the sleepiness Eren hadn't manage to knock out of him.

He returned to the room, shortly after freshening up, to a distressed Eren.

"Eren, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he rushed over to her, forgetting the ache in his chin and tenderness in his lips as he spoke.

"I'm fine…sorry…" she looked up from her hands, "are you okay?"

Levi chuckled, "I'm fine, stop apologizing. It was an accident."

"I know, but…I'm still sorry."

"Apologize one more time, I dare you."

"I…" Eren shut her lips tightly and looked up at the amused expression Levi wore on his face. She tried to resist the laughter, she truly did, but after everything they'd gone through, a little laugh would surely be allowed.

It started as a giggle, then escalated into a full on hardy laugh that had her rolling against the disheveled sheets of Levi's bed. It felt like she hadn't laughed in years, at least not that hard. The whole absurdity of the situation finally settled into her less sleep deprived, and almost drug free system, helping fuel her need to laugh.

The sight of a laughing Eren did wonders for Levi's guilt ridden system. He laughed along with her, though not as wildly as Eren was. He sat on the edge of the bed when she stopped rolling on it, choosing instead to contain her giggles with a loose hand over her smiling mouth.

Levi hesitantly reached out and experimentally stroked her hair, hoping that that would help calm her strange mix of nervous and cheerful laughter. He smiled when Eren didn't flinch away from his touch; instead, she leaned into it, and allowed him to continue his calming pats.

After several more minutes had passed, Eren found herself clutching the duvet, eyes closed and resting against Levi's leg as he continued his soothing motions. Their oddly peaceful silence was interrupted by a loud declaration of Eren's empty stomach. Her eyes shot open and she offered Levi an apologetic grin.

He raised his brow at the noise, but was not really surprised by it. She'd practically been running on nothing. After she was attacked and Levi saved her, she emptied the contents of her stomach in the toilet of her old apartment, and all she'd had since then was the cup of hot cocoa Levi made for her before she woke up in his house.

Levi gave her head one more pat, then stood from his bed. "Stay here," he started, "I'm going to go make something to eat, I'll bring it to you when I'm finished alright?"

Eren felt the high she'd attained from her laughing fit fading, "okay…" she answered reluctantly, clutching the duvet a bit tighter.

Levi looked to her one more time, then nodded. He walked out of the room and shut the door, he felt the urge to lock it, but quickly shoved the idea into the back of his head, 'If I can't show her that I trust her…how can I expect her to ever trust me?' He left the door unlocked and shuffled to the kitchen to check the time and prepare them both a decent meal.

* * *

Eren sat alone, wrapped in the wrinkled duvet, for fifteen minutes, trying her best not to let her mind wander to the events of the previous night. The longer she sat, the heavier her breathing became, so much so that she began to feel faint and had to lie back down. The coolness of the silken pillow helped calm her pulse, and helped to ease the tension of the slowly building migraine taking root in her head.

After another fifteen minutes had passed, Eren's attempt at simply not thinking back to her attack had failed miserably. Her thoughts shot rapidly through her head, one after another of 'what if's,' and 'how did this even happen,'… 'who is he,'… 'why is helping me,'… 'I'm scared, I need to leave…I need to run…I don't want to be alone…someone get them away, get away from me, please…help.' She was soon a nervous ball of adrenaline fueled energy with only one thought guiding her actions. _Escape. _

She forced herself on her tired and weak legs, and crept towards the door. She took a shallow breath and jostled the handle, pleased to find that it was not locked. She slowly cracked open the door, then searched the area for any signs of movement. With daylight now illuminating the house, it was much less intimidating and easier to navigate her escape.

Eren opened the door slowly, hoping that the hinges wouldn't squeak and betray her. They didn't. She let go of a breath she'd been holding while opening the door, and crept out of the room and into a narrow hallway.

There were two doors to her right and large, dark green painted wall to her left. The smell and sound of sizzling meat on the stove awoke the painful hunger she felt. Ignoring the draw of food, she continued on, creeping as quietly as she could down the hallway until she reached an open area. There was a small set of stairs leading down into what appeared to be a tiled entryway, feeling a momentary high from joy of finding her exit to freedom, she lunged towards the doorway, her bare feet slapping loudly against the wood flooring. She hissed when her feet touched the even colder tile of the entryway, but ignored it as she fumbled with the locks and tried to open the front door. Her freedom lay just on the other side of the wooden barrier.

Levi had just finished preparing the potatoes and eggs, and set them aside to be plated while he finished up on the bacon. He wasn't sure how hungry Eren would be, or even if she'd be able to handle all of the high calorie foods in one sitting, so he made a small pot of sweet rice porridge, in hopes that it would calm her nerves and help her feel more comfortable. He'd just plated the last piece of bacon when he heard the door open. He narrowed his eyes and hurried around the corner, taking the shortest way to his bedroom, passing by the room he'd held Eren and his small balcony, where he enjoyed going out to read on warmer, breezy mornings. As he completely rounded the corner, he felt the blood drain from his face. His heart dropped and he ran forward to his opened front door. 'Eren, no…NO.'

He ran out and searched frantically for any signs of Eren, spotting her retreating form within seconds as she headed towards his neighbor's rose bush garden. She tripped over the shrubbery that lined his concrete driveway and fell against the white, well kept pavement. He could tell the fall hurt her, since she could only crawl from area, scraping her clothed leg against the pavement and into his well maintained lawn. Within seconds, Levi was on her, pulling her up from the ground and all but dragging her back towards the house all the while praying that no one had witnessed the scene. The less people knew of his home's new occupant, the better for him, and the safer Eren would be.

When she pushed the door open and felt the morning sunlight hit her face, Eren's previous thought was consumed by another. _Run. _She didn't care how loud she was or where she was going, all she knew was that she had to escape, she had to run. So she did.

She stumbled out of the entryway and ran towards the nearest house, ignoring the fact that it was separated from Levi's yard by an obscene wall of rose bushes. When she realized her error and how her current direction could only end poorly, she turned on her heel and lost her footing on his driveway, scraping her toe against the light gray pavement and twisting her foot in an awkward position to change her direction. She tripped over the short line of shrubbery that decorated the driveway and fell, half of her body falling against the short grass while the other half slammed against the concrete slab. "Ugh…" she groaned and tried to raise herself, but her throbbing ankle would not allow it. She dragged herself, in a last ditch effort to escape.

When Levi's arms were wrapped around her and she was lifted from the ground, her mind went blank, all the panic had died down and the adrenaline rush that fueled her tired, empty body along with it. 'I can't give up, no I was so close, I have to fight…I have to fight back…' as she was dragged back into the home, that was quickly becoming more of a prison cell than a house, she could think only one thing, _Fight._

Levi dropped Eren to her feet at the entryway and quickly locked the doors. His attention was brought back when she lunged against him, and nearly knocked the air out of him when she head butted him in the abdomen.

"E-ren…" he groaned out, clutching his stomach, "Eren, stop, calm down," when she continued to struggle he took a deep breath and raised his voice, "EREN, CALM DOWN."

His patience had all but run out. He tried to trust her, but she'd failed the test. He wouldn't be able to let her roam around his…no their, home, freely anytime soon. His own thoughts alarmed him, frightened him, but what scared him even more was that he was okay with it, he was agreeing with the devil lurking in his mind, completely ignoring the protests of the angel on his shoulder and the one struggling in his arms.

Eren stilled her struggles, taking a deep, shaky breath and let her body go limp; trusting that Levi would take the weight that her wobbly, aching legs could no longer support. "I-" she couldn't finish the sentence, she was going to apologize, but they both knew how insincere it would have been, so she swallowed it and opted for silence.

"Let's go eat now. We'll talk this over after you've had your fill Eren." She nodded weakly and leaned forward from his chest. He released his hold and reached for her hand, which she offered without protest. They walked slowly, hand in hand, pass the kitchen and to the dining table. He let her settle into place and brought their plates to the table. To Eren's meal, he added a small bowl of the honey sweetened rice porridge.

They ate in silence, save for Eren's grumbling stomach. She was relieved to finally eat, but she wasn't sure she wanted to eat her fill since she wasn't exactly confident in her ability to hold it all down. The less she ate then, the less would come up later on. With a sigh, Eren finished the small bowl of sweet rice, and then ate a few slices of bacon before pushing her plates away, despite the audible and incessant grumble of her greedy food sac.

Levi cleaned his plate, and said nothing about Eren's refusal to finish everything on hers. 'At least she liked the porridge,' he thought, trying to lessen his growing impatience and anger towards her.

"Eren, are you still in pain?" he broke their awkward silence with caring words, though his tone was far from concerned.

Eren scrunched her brows and shook her head, "it's not that bad, I think I just hit my ankle too hard when I fell." She made it a point to avoid his strong, assessing stare.

"I see." He stood and cleared their plates, then brought back two bottles of cold water. Eren reached forward and nearly snatched the bottle from his hand as he set it onto the dark wood of the square dining table. She greedily downed nearly half the bottle, finally feeling the lack of water taking its effect.

Levi's eyes widened as she drained the bottle, and without a word her offered her his as well. She thanked him with a nervous nod of her head and drank from his until she seemed satisfied.

"Why…" she began hesitantly, vainly hiding her face behind the water bottle, "why am I here?"

Levi sat with his elbow handing off the back of the chair, one leg crossed over the other and hand loosely balled against the table top, staring at Eren impassively. "Because this is the safest place for you."

Eren squeezed the bottle in her hand. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I care about you."

She furrowed her brows, "But I barely know you…? This...this isn't normal…" he said nothing in reply so she continued her questions, "How long are you going to keep me here?"

"Until I think you're safe enough on your own."

"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean, I'll be fine on my own, why can't you just let me leave? It's my life, not yours, why are you so bent on prying into my business?"

Levi blinked, calm and emotionless expression still on his face, "I believe I already answered that. The world is cruel Eren, and for you it's become particularly dark. You've managed to catch the attention of the wrong people; I'm partly to blame for that, so I'm taking the responsibility of caring for you until you're able to care for yourself."

"Partly to blame…the wrong people? What are you talking about?" she thought back to past several months of her life, "you mean those thugs?" Levi nodded, "but that was just a coincidence right? I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…I'm really unlucky, that's all…right…?" she was trembling as all the events began to fit together. "M-my mother…it…but that was an accident…wasn't it?" A single tear fell down her pallid cheek.

Levi simple shook his head, "I don't know all the details…but from I do know, I can tell you that it was no accident Eren. She was murdered, just like you were about to be before I brought you here."

Her eyes widened in horror and she felt the sick feeling return. She threw her hand over her mouth and looked up at Levi in a silent plea.

Alarmed, though not entirely surprised by her display, he rushed around the table and guided her to the nearest bathroom down the hall. He stayed by her side, holding her hair out of her face while she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. When he was sure she'd finished, he flushed the foul smelling substance away and patted down her feverish, sweat filled forehead with a cool damp cloth. He helped her to the sink and let her rinse her mouth, then fished out a new tooth brush and a bottle of paste. Once she finished brushing her teeth, he led her back to his bedroom and helped her into his bed.

When she was tucked in and comfortable, he returned to the kitchen to bring her more water, knowing she'd be terribly dehydrated. Grabbing one for himself and several extra for Eren, he returned to his bedroom and sat in chair he'd spent the previous night in. After watching her drift in and out of sleep for nearly half an hour, he deemed her stable enough to leave alone for a short time, while he took a well deserved shower and rid himself of the grime that had accumulated since their arrival in his house. He set to cleaning his home, and then returned to the room when it was back in its pristine, clean smelling condition.

Eren's lids fluttered open at the sound of metal clinking against metal. She watched the door open, and Levi slid in silently. He set, what looked like a set of keys onto his desk, and then walked over to sit in his chair. 'He looks exhausted,' she thought to herself, feeling guilty for her brattish, but understandable behavior. Without another thought, she pushed herself up from the warm sheets of his queen sized bed and reached forward to grab a hold of his hand. It was cold, but the skin was soft, and smooth.

"H-hey," she started, Levi's tired eyes opened and focused on her, "you can sleep here if you want…I-I'll go back to the other room."

"Hmm?" he questioned, "I want you to be as comfortable as possible. You can stay here."

She shook her head in protest, "No, it's not fair, this is your bed, and you should sleep in it. I slept fine last night, but you look really exhausted. You can even lock me in the room…I won't try to run again…" she was almost pleading with him.

Levi's lips curled in a small smile and blinked his heavy lids, "and what if you have another nightmare, hmm? What you need is rest and you're going to get it here. You said so yourself." He leaned forward and patted her head, easing her back down into the sheets.

With an indignant puff, Eren obeyed his silent commands and slid back into the comforting embrace of the white, silk sheets. She stared at him for a moment longer and then spoke, "you could still sleep here you know…" to emphasize her words, she pushed herself further back along the bed, to offer Levi a space to slip in under the covers. She was scared of him, yes, but that didn't mean that she wasn't grateful to him for saving her so many times. She quite literally, owed him her life and she wasn't ashamed to admit it.

Levi opened his tired eyes once more to see space she'd offered him. He felt so very tempted to accept her offer, but somewhere in the back of his mind, perhaps it was the angel he'd refused to listen to earlier, or maybe it was his own, guilt ridden consciousness telling him to deny the offer. He didn't deserve to be comfortable; he didn't deserve to be so openly welcomed into her arms. With a drained smile, he shook his head to politely declined the offer and shut his eyes.

Eren followed in suit, all thoughts of escaping into the uncertainty that awaited her outside the cold house buried deep in her mind. She settled comfortably and fell back into a fitful sleep, waking often to drink water and rid herself of the uncomfortable dryness in her mouth and throat.

**A/N**

**I'm so sorry I don't know where all the sad came from but by the time I finished this chapter it was too late. I'm going to go comfort myself with dark chocolate and overly sweetened hot tea. **

**Sayonara til next week**.


	9. Dear Rabbit - Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**Apologies for the short chapter, I honestly debated whether or not to post this since I haven't really been in the right mind to write. I know I'm too old to be bothered by anonymous hate, but on top of a particularly shitty day (literally, I woke up to the smell of dog shit because my dog is old and incontinent…did I mention it was IN MY FUCKING BED), I got a really nasty message (tumblr lolol) that just really put me in a piss ass mood. **

**I hope it doesn't show in this chapter, but if it does, then I am honestly sorry. It's very likely I'll end up re-writing this a bit once the foul air settles, anyway, hope you enjoy, thanks for your patience and support!**

**x-sosei-x: Haha, you can be both! Because I kind of am. I'm a little annoyed with Levi's persistence, but at the same time, I love him for wanting to protect Eren so much. Gah. Wow it sounds weird saying that when I'm the one writing it…heh. **

**Have this really short chapter. **

**Chapter Seven– Dear Rabbit – Part 3**

For the next two days, following their spat, Eren took residence in Levi's bedroom. She still struggled to keep her meals down, but was able to save her energy by resting as much as possible. Levi made sure of that. He'd decided to make the food as bland as possible, so as not to upset her, still very much delicate, system. On the third day Eren had taken residence in his home, a mere four days before his vacation was set to end, he'd managed to get her to come to terms with staying under his care for at least the time being. He tried to make her understand just how dangerous the Legion was, and how vulnerable she was, blindly roaming around, especially without a legal guardian.

He'd explained to her that she may have been safe with the Ackerman's during the time immediately after her mother's passing, but that was only because she had not yet been spotted in their home yet. "The fuckheads running the show," as he put it, hadn't managed to figure out where she'd gone; that's why they stalked her apartment complex, waiting for her to return, just as she had the night of the last attack. When he assured her that the Ackerman's and Arlert's, along with anyone else they had seen her associate with would be attacked, and possibly killed if she made contact with them or tried to run to them, that buried almost all the voices of resistance in her head telling her to run, _almost_.

It was midday, on the tenth day of Levi's two week vacation, when he received a call from work. The last he'd checked, Eren was soundly napping the afternoon away. She'd been able to hold down breakfast and her appetite was returning; he'd never been so grateful for the ravenous hunger that made most teen's stomachs, bottomless pits.

Levi clicked his tongue when he saw the caller ID flash across his phone screen, he picked up the device and slid his thumb across the screen to answer, "Erwin, I'm still on vacation, this had better be important or else I'm hanging up." Levi's tone held a tinge of sarcasm in it, though it still remained stoic and professional.

"You know I wouldn't disturb you for something that wasn't." The words were light, but held urgency in them.

"So?" Levi questioned, peeking into his bedroom briefly to make sure the ring hadn't drawn Eren from her slumber. Satisfied to see her still sleeping soundly, he closed the door and made himself comfortable in the recliner in his living room.

"She's gone Levi."

Levi's tone remained calm, "Who's gone? What the hell do you mean?"

Erwin's tone fell, the words were low, and serious as he continued, "Eren Yeager has vanished. We received a concerned call from the Ackerman's two days ago, when she reportedly went missing. Apparently she'd been on her way to finish packing up her apartment and managed to convince them to let her go alone."

"So what? You think she ran?" Levi clenched his knee.

"It's possible, but not likely." Erwin stated.

Levi remained silent, waiting for Erwin to continue.

"A day after the report was filed, a few of our officers were dispatched to check out her apartment, hoping to find any signs or traces of where she could have gone or what could have happened."

"And? Stop beating around the bush and fucking tell me."

"They found nothing but the weak smell of bleach. There appeared to be faint blood stains in the living space, but whoever cleaned it up did an incredibly thorough job. Hanji has been in the lab trying to analyze the few samples we were able to get; we won't have those results for another two weeks. We still have almost nothing to go on."

That caught Levi by surprise. He'd only had enough time to clean himself up and try and remove any evidence that _he_ had been there. Admittedly he'd used an excessive amount of bleach, so the smell was likely his doing, but that didn't explain how the three dead bodies that should have been there, rotting like the maggot meals they were, weren't. He narrowed his eyes and thought of the possibilities. 'Could someone have seen me and cleaned up as a kind act? No, that's complete bullshit and I know it…unless, Erwin is just lying? Does that mean he knows I have her…I need to be careful if he does... shit, but he wouldn't tell such a blatant lie, he's smarter than that. Did those bastards have backup? Maybe they realized that those meatheads hadn't returned and they sent a reconnaissance team? That's most likely it…I have some things to look into, but for now I need to get this asshole off the phone and off my back.'

"So let me guess, you wanted to know if I've seen the kid?"

"Yes, you did seem…close to her. Am I mistaken?" Erwin's amused tone returned.

"You aren't, we have a bit of history," Levi continued on with a sarcastic bite, "not that it's any of your damn business."

Erwin chuckled, "I figured as much. I just wanted to call and check, we have to cover all of our bases on this one. I expect that you'll report as soon as you've learned anything concerning Miss Yeager's whereabouts."

"I'll do some digging if that's what you're asking. Lucky for you, I'm still on vacation so I have plenty of time to pull weeds."

"Alright then, I'll leave it to you to cultivate. I hope your vacation has gone well nonetheless, and sorry to disturb you with such sinister news."

"You can stop with the gardening bit now, you killed it. I'll see what I can find, now hang up and let me get back to cleaning." He heard a hearty chuckle until it was cut off by a sharp tone, indicating that the other line had hung up and the call had ended.

Levi sighed deeply and started towards his kitchen to make himself a much needed cup of tea to help ease the oncoming headache. One he started heating the water, he began rummaging through his pantry and then fridge, sighing heavily as he realized his food supply was falling low. 'I need to go grocery shopping soon,' his attention was drawn away from the dwindling supplies in his kitchen when he heard the sound of footsteps, softly padding towards the kitchen.

He turned and smiled, a bit surprised and concerned to see Eren out of bed and walking around. "Sleep well?" he questioned, walking over to the dining table and pulling out a chair for her to sit.

"Mhm," was the mumbled response, "your bed is really comfortable."

"Glad to hear it," he pulled out another cup from his cupboard and set to making their drinks, "tea or hot cocoa?" he questioned over his shoulder. She perked up at the mention of 'hot cocoa.'

"Tea is fine." She sounded a bit reluctant.

Levi nodded and prepared two cups. He made sure to add honey to Eren's, since she didn't seem to be a fan of the subtle bitterness in the flavor.

"Tea it is," he set the cup down and seated himself next to her at the square table. She smiled and accepted the warm ceramic cup with a grateful nod.

They sat and enjoyed a strange silence. Eren had nearly finished her cup when Levi spoke again, "how are you feeling?"

"Better. Hungry." She offered a small smile and finished her warm drink.

Levi stood and took her empty cup along with his, heading towards the kitchen, "then I better get started on something huh?"

Eren simply nodded and stayed put, watching him work his way through the ingredients until a meal was finished and ready to be served. To both Eren and Levi's delight, she cleaned her plate and asked for seconds before returning to bed for the evening.

* * *

With only two days remaining of his vacation, Levi decided it was finally time to run his errands. Levi stood at the side of his bed, leaning over to stroke the aberrant hairs that ran amuck the sleeping girl's face, "Eren," he called softly, "I need you to wake up." He continued his gentle strokes until she began to stir. When her eyes opened and focused on him, he continued on, "sorry to disturb you, but you need to get up."

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, letting a quiet groan escape as she dropped her legs over the side of the bed and her feet hit the cold wood flooring, "It's okay, wh-ah-at's up?" she yawned and looked up at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

Levi barely suppressed a chuckle at her actions. "I'm going out for a little while; I need you to go back to your room while I'm gone."

Eren spoke before her sleep hazed mind could process the words, "but I'm in my room?"

He smiled and ruffled her hair, "yes, this does seem to be your room now. But it's…safer for you in the other room, so I still need you to go back there."

As the words set in and processed, she stood from the bed and followed Levi down the hall and to the room without further protest. She briefly glanced at the entryway, and remembered her attempt to escape, but returned her focus to Levi's back without a second thought. Levi opened the door and gestured for her to enter the space. When Eren sat on the cold sheets of the bed she'd spent her first night in, she realized what he was going to do.

"Are you…going to lock me in here again?" She didn't sound hurt, only a bit disappointed. 'Of course he is, I tried the run the second I got the chance…idiot.'

Levi looked conflicted for moment, and then his stoic mask returned. "For now yes," he started towards the bed where Eren sat, and hesitantly reached out to stroke her head. As he approached, she watched him, almost curiously, and allowed him to make contact. To Levi's surprise, she leaned into his touch, even as his caresses fell from the top of her head to her face. "But I'll be back as soon as I can to let you out again."

Eren smiled sadly, "saying it like that makes it sound like I'm your pet or something…"

Levi's eyes widened in surprise, then returned to their normal narrowed state. "That's not what I intended Eren, I'm sorry."

She nodded and he pulled his hand away, "I know." She stood from the bed and pulled the sheets back before slipping under them, without looking at Levi, who she heard retreating back towards the door, she spoke quietly, "just …hurry."

Levi stared at her, a strange mix of sadness and happiness blooming in his chest. He wasn't sure if he was meant to hear those words, but he did, and it made it all the more difficult to shut the door and turn the key. He sighed and started towards the entryway. As he locked the door, he gave his home one more, long look, then opened his garage. Within several minutes, he was in his car and driving down the street towards the nearest grocer, intent on returning as quickly as possible to free the precious being he'd just locked away.

**A/N**

**Just a heads up, I have a fairly detailed outline for this story and I plan on sticking to (I have been sticking it) pretty closely, and let me just tell you, Levi's yan-yan gets a bit more aggressive and intense. If this is a put off to you, then I apologize. If you'd like, I'll try and section off his more intense yandere sections with bolded demarcations (kinda like how I do when new content is added). **

**Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that ahead of time, just in case you're like "WHAT? WHAT IS THIS? WHY IS HE SO CRAZY? WTF MAN." **

**Blame it on the Haru. (and the weird ass music I listen to when I write this story).**

**Sayonara til next week~**


	10. Dear Rabbit - Part 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own SNK, if I did, no one would be dead.**

**A/N **

**This is late, sorry about that. Work schedule got way too out of control. My boss seems to think that because I'm young, that I don't need sleep, nor do I have a life with responsibilities that lie outside of my job, and that it's perfectly okay to schedule me for 5AM – 3 PM shifts four days in a row just because it's spring break. Yep. Totally fine. Not like I needed to energy to babysit my 9 year old cousin (who thankfully is easily entertained and likes, no, LOVES, Shugo Chara!). **

**ANYWAY, here is the latest chapter, sorry for wait. For future progress updates and whatnot, you can follow my tumblr, haruka-hourou, or track this fic's tag, fic: DearRabbit**

**zirii: Sorry, it's still short, but hopefully still good too? OTL**

**Still not quite satisfied, but I've made you wait long enough.**

**Chapter Eight– Dear Rabbit – Part 4**

Nearly two weeks had passed since Levi returned to the precinct from his vacation.

It was rough at the start, especially for Levi, locking Eren in her room- turned cell- every morning before he left, and spending his lunch breaks driving across town just to spend a measly ten, sometimes fifteen minutes depending on traffic, with her and making sure she ate and was feeling well. As well as a soon to be eighteen-year-old girl could feel while being locked away for the better hours of the day and afternoon.

For the first several days, Erwin questioned Levi's sudden want, to eat his meals separately from him, but they were both adults, and his coworker had always been on the peculiar side, not to mention his less than reputable background. Although Erwin wanted to know the reasons behind his partner's odd behavior, he respected Levi enough not to survey him with questions. Erwin was also certain that his partner's odd new habit had something to do with the missing girls' cases that the department had been hammered with for the past three weeks.

Levi seemed a bit more distant that usual, Erwin simply chalked it up to being his way of coping with things. The missing Eren Yeager girl, likely weighed heavily upon Levi's mind, making him seem to be not all there.

As it stood, they had no leads aside from the names of the three, currently-MIA, but at this point, very likely deceased men, whose blood was found in Eren Yeager's apartment. Erwin knew Levi had been working fervently to find any proof that would link the only suspects to the infamous legion, the man looked like he hadn't slept for days, it was alarming, but Levi was a grown man. He could make his own decisions and he knew his limits, or at least Erwin hoped he did, particularly when it came to his health.

As the weeks progressed, Erwin grew increasingly impatient with the stagnant, almost nonexistent progress of this particular missing person's case. He'd begun contemplating whether or not to ask their superior to just take Levi completely off the case, it didn't seem to be doing him any good, especially whenever they thought they'd finally found a lead, only to have their plans blown up in their faces as they were led to yet another, literal dead end.

The homicide rate for young women and teenage girls was alarming. In the past three weeks alone, three girls had gone missing, two of those missing girl were found dead. Both of them had been brutally mutilated, one was disfigured almost beyond recognition, yet the first missing girl, Eren, had yet to be found, dead or alive. Seeing as they had yet to find a body, or any parts of her body for that matter, the department, and her friends, could only hope that she was still alive, and simply hiding, or being detained somewhere.

Erwin had honestly suspected Levi to be behind the Yeager girl's disappearance, but when Levi had returned from his brief leave, and the bodies of the girls started popping up, he had to reconsider his private list of suspects. He knew Levi well, they'd been partners for nearly five years now, and he knew for a fact that Levi would never hurt someone who he deemed physically weak or defenseless, let alone kidnap and murder young women. Young women, who seemed to have no other correlation aside from their ages and…appearances. Whoever was going after these girls had an odd interest in young females with brown hair and green eyes.

The department was left to deal with the grief-stricken parents and families, concerned friends, and even more terrified mothers and grandparents calling in, in maddening volumes, concerned for their green eyed, brunette children and grandchildren. Whoever was doing this was either a sick fetishist with too much time on their hands, or someone trying to make a point. Someone who was meticulous and hell bent on leaving a very unique, and gruesome calling card, one that set both Erwin and Levi on edge.

_Sooner or later we'll find her, and until we do, they'll keep dying. Make your choice. _

_Them. _

_Or You._

* * *

Four days before Eren's eighteenth birthday, she sat in the room she'd nicknamed her 'cell' for the twelfth day since Levi had returned to work. She'd been incredibly anxious for the first week of her holding, pacing back and forth, jumping in place, screaming into her pillow to muffle her cries of anxiety and dread, and sleeping to try and suppress as much of her anxious energy as she could, only waking to eat and spend a few quiet moments with Levi before she was locked away again.

She hated Mondays and Thursdays. On those awful days, Levi had to be at the department by 6AM, which meant waking up before 5AM to prepare for the day and get to the office on time. Levi hated being late as much as Eren hated being woken up and moved to the cell at 4:55 AM every Monday and Thursday.

* * *

Eren stared at the small clock on the wall and watched the seconds tick by. One. Two. Three…Forty-three. Forty-four. Forty-five…Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Zero. One. Two. Three…

She soon nodded off to sleep, slumping against the soft, fresh sheets, letting her bored mind wander. Her only freedom now lie in her dreams, where she was able to run around the house unsupervised, to go outside and smell the fragrance of the spring's first blooms. Where she was free to get fresh air, and not breathe the stale, recycled air that ran through the ventilation system of the house. How she longed to be in the sun again, to take a long walk whilst watching it set in the sky, and to greet the lesser light of the moon as the greater of the two faded, to light up the other side of the world; to dance in the rain; to see Mikasa; to listen to Armin tell them about another of his most recent reads… to just be free. She didn't want to be caged like some animal, being fed and kept like a prized poodle or a delicate young rabbit.

The sound of keys rattling brought Eren's consciousness back to the surface, she slowly pushed herself up from the bed, then smiled upon seeing Levi's, still fully uniformed figure, leaning against the door frame.

"You're back." It was a statement, rather than an observation. Eren hastily stretched and hopped out of the bed, eager to stretch her legs.

"I am. How are you feeling?" Levi watched her closely as she approached the opened door.

He let out a surprised huff when she wrapped her arms around him. "Welcome home." After getting over the initial shock, caused by the affectionate gesture, Levi wrapped his arms around Eren's soft, warm body.

"I'm home." He breathed out; too tired to reprimand himself and show the restraint he'd been barely able to keep, the past several weeks.

Their tender moment was interrupted but an angry grumble originating from both of their stomachs.

"I'm hungry," Eren grinned and met Levi's amused eyes. The two stared at each other in a tense silence for a moment, before the tension was swept away with the soft giggles that escaped Eren's throat, which were soon accompanied by Levi's own, subdued, but robust laughter.

Being with Eren made him feel human. She didn't treat him like the monster he knew she should, like a wild beast that needed to be caged, rather than be the one to cage the defenseless and naturally faultless creature. He was a monster, but she still greeted him when he came home, she talked with him and encouraged him to share his day with her, she shared her meals with him, allowing him to eat with her, and bask in her perfection, her beauty…her complete and pure innocence. The snow white innocence he longed to have for himself, to drape over and shroud his bloodstained past and his filthy, undeserving tar black soul.

* * *

They sat at the small dining room table, eating in a comfortable silence, save from the rumbles of Eren's stomach and the slurping of sauce.

"You never answered my question."

"Hmm? What question?" Eren said in between mouthfuls.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ah…oh um, fine I guess. Tired."

Levi scrunched his brows, his tone now full of concern, "Tired… are you not sleeping well? Nightmares?"

"N-no, not anything like that. I've been sleeping okay…and the nightmares aren't that bad. Really." She paused and twirled the noodles on her plate, picking up the fork and stabbing it into a piece of chicken. Levi said nothing, patiently waiting for her to continue. "It's just that…well, I was wondering…"

He sighed, "What is it Eren? If you want something, you know all you need to do is ask. The worst that could happen is that I'll say no. So go ahead, what is it?"

"I-I really don't like being locked in that room!" She rushed the words out so quickly that it almost surprised Levi.

"I know that, but we both know why I do it, Eren, trust me, I don't like it either." His expression grew grim.

"But… I won't try and run again, so why can't I just be free in the house all day? I'd like that a lot better, and you wouldn't have to come all the way back just to let me out for lunch. I can cook and even clean if you want. Anything really, just please don't lock in there again!" Levi opened his mouth to counter her plea, but she continued on fervently, cutting him off, "I live here too now, so why is that I feel so unwelcomed? Shouldn't I be able to walk around my own house? Is that really too much to ask!?"

Eren stared at Levi, holding as intense a look as she could muster under his powerful gaze. Her lip quivered, and she bit it to still its motions. She was scared. But she was also certain that he wouldn't hurt her. It was that faint glimmer of hope she held onto, that quieted the voices in her head and restrained the terrors of her nightmares. It was that certainty, which she prayed right now, would work in her favor to calm the storm quickly forming in Levi's features.

_Run._

'He won't hurt me, he's not like them,' she tried to quiet the voice, 'stay calm Eren, stay calm and stay firm. Do not yield. Not to this.'

_Get away from here. _

Her eyes grew wider as the manic look in his features raged on, the lip biting hardly helped still her quivers, so much so, that she bit through the soft flesh, puncturing her bottom lip and continued to bite down harder, disregarding the coppery tang that seeped into her mouth and spread across her tongue.

_He's coming. _

Levi stood, the force and speed with which he did so, knocked the chair backwards. His heated gaze focused on Eren as he rounded the table and stood in front of her seated and now trembling form.

"Eren." He reached forward, and firmly gripped her face, forcing her jaw open with his thumb and index fingers, trying to pry the guilty canines away from the abused flesh of her lower lip. "Eren stop it."

_They're coming._

She stared up at him blankly. 'Huh, what is…why is he so close? Stop…stop what?...I-oh…I don't feel so good…'

Her breathing became more labored, as she found it increasingly more difficult to take oxygen sufficient breathes.

"Eren?" Levi's eyes grew wide, his hand fell from her face and he gripped her shoulders to prevent her from falling back.

Her heart started beating faster. _Run, they're coming Eren. Run. They'll get you if you don't…RUN. _Her skin turned red, the faint tan she had, quickly masked by the angry flush that came with the sudden increase in her body temperature. _Run. _The sweat began to build and run down her forehead, cascading over her pink cheeks and dripping from her ruddy nose. _It's too late. They're here._

"GET AWAY NO DON'T TOUCH ME NO!" Eren screeched, flailing, kicking, and scratching at Levi's face, arms, hands. Whatever she could reach. The pasta she'd been eating fell to floor, the ceramic dish shattering as it sent the tomato-sauced meal spilling to the ground. A piece of the broken dish managed to graze Eren's leg and a small trail of blood slid down the appendage to join the miniscule puddle that formed from the fragments lodged into the bottom of her wildly stomping foot.

Within moments of the initial attack, Levi had Eren restrained in his arms and pulled away from the table and the mess of ceramic, spaghetti, chicken, and blood that was now splattered across his dining room floor.

Her thrashing and screams continued as he tried to take her to her room. He needed to treat her foot as soon as possible lest she lodge the ceramic pieces in further. He needed her to stop fighting him, to stop screaming, to just stop.

With both his hands occupied with restraining her and holding her off the ground, he had few options available to silence her banshee-like screeches. With a moment's hesitation, and a quickly whispered, "Please forgive me," he pinned her to the wall and slotted his mouth over hers, swallowing her bellowing cries with as platonic of a kiss as his desire laden system could sustain.

At first, it seemed like his efforts were fruitless, as she continued to fight against him, but as she began to run out of air, her anxiety-high mind, too frazzled to allow her brain's involuntary commands of breathing to get through, she stiffened in his hold. Eren rested her weight against Levi and fell limp in his arms as her need for oxygen became greater and more pressing than the rapid amount of adrenaline surging through her veins.

When Levi felt her weight leaning more fully on him, he wrapped his arms tighter around her, then pulled away, separating his lips, from Eren's widely agape mouth. Taking this opportunity, he hurried to her room and carefully placed her atop the covers, taking special care to cradle her head and prop up the injured foot.

After making sure she was stable, he dashed to his bathroom, located the first aid kit and nearly sprinted back to Eren's side, ready to remove the ceramic debris and thoroughly clean and treat her, unintentionally, self-inflicted injury.

* * *

When Eren was finally resting comfortably on the bed, foot propped and wrapped up; Levi let his exhausted body, slump against the wall and slid to sit on the hardwood floor. He let his head fall forward, resting on his hands, propped up by his knees, and closed his eyes, intending only to rest for a few moments before picking himself back up to go and clean the colossal mess on his dining room floor.

'What the hell was that, why was she screaming…Eren…what's wrong,' he scrunched his hidden brows in frustration, 'what have I done to you…?'

**A/N **

**This is NOT where I wanted to end this chapter, but the last part of it really is not ready to be released, and I do think it needs to be read together. Again, apologies for the late and short update, I will try my hardest to make it up to you with next week's update!**

**Fun Fact: I'm working three new fics. If my updates become a bit more sporadic, it's because the inspiration bug has bitten me and I worked more on the newer fics than the current ones, (which is bad I know, but what can I do?) Anyway, these won't start to pop up until mid to late spring or possibly even the early summer months, when I actually have more time. **

**Sayonara til next update~**


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